


Blind Leading The Blind

by MrCynical



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Implied/Referenced Torture, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2019-10-24 16:38:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 148,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrCynical/pseuds/MrCynical
Summary: When presented with the chance to kill Clementine, Lily makes a different choice.AKA Clem gets captured at the end of E2 instead of Violet or Louis. Editing graciously provided by Denymeister!





	1. Taking Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> So, some context for choices that will be important later:
> 
> Lee helped kill Larry  
> Clementine watched Carver die  
> Clementine let Jane die and stayed with Kenny  
> Clementine romanced Violet
> 
> Canon changes:
> 
> AJ never lost his gun  
> AJ was with Louis when Abel threw the Molotov, separating them  
> Louis noticed Violet fighting a raider and thus didn't see Lily aiming at Clem

****_ Now you're lost and gone forever, _

_ Dreadful sorry, Clementine _

The plan was  _ simple _ . It had almost worked, too. Anyone else's luck, it would have. But, unfortunately, it was Clementine's.

She and AJ had gotten separated when the fire broke out. With everything going on, she wasn't sure how it happened. One moment he was next to her, the next he had somehow ended up with Louis and the others on the other side of the flames. There wasn't any time to dwell on it with Able bursting into the office soon after. The fight all blurred together, but seeing as how she had somehow wound up outside, she could take a guess as to what happened.

Able's screaming sounded like it was miles away, despite Clem seeing his writhing form bleeding and crying out right below her. What was clear as day, however, was the end of the rifle lingering inches from her face.

Lily looked down at her, something between hatred and regret etched onto her face like stone. “ _ Shit. _ This should be easy…” the brunette breathily told herself. Clementine breathed slowly as she tried to recover from her fall. The daring glare said more than words ever could.

Lily's gaze hardened. Clem saw the stock of the rifle raise and then her vision started to swim, an agonizing ringing filling her ears. As her muddled sight grew darker and darker, she saw a pair of boots approaching her and subsequently begin dragging her towards the carriage. Blackness took over for a moment before her impaired vision returned. Clementine forced her eyes to stay open as long as possible. Across from her, Violet and Louis were struggling against another one of the raiders. Violet took a harsh hit to the face that made her stumble while Louis responded by gut punching the woman. AJ ran out of the school, seeing them first. The shot from his revolver reverberated throughout the ruins of the yard, yet another sting in her abused eardrums. Of course, it was much worse for the target, with the raider's face exploding into a gruesome mist of blood and viscera.

As she was haphazardly tossed in the cage, AJ finally noticed her plight. He yelled out her name and subsequently caught her friend's attention as well. Too little too late, however, as the metal door slammed to a close and the horses bolted. A swell of panic formed within her as the reality of the situation finally caught up with the captured girl.

She tried to force herself up, but it was like her body was made of bricks. Weak and concussed, Clem couldn't fight off the relentless pull of unconsciousness any longer.

***

“Shit! Clem!” Louis shouted, running towards the cart even after the horses ran. A wide-eyes Violet wasn't too far behind as she shot an arrow at them. Lily dodged it with remarkable reflexes before tossing a molotov at the gate and thus stopping any sort of chase. The two stopped in their tracks, forced back by the flames. 

“Vi! Louis! Help!” Ruby’s voice just barely sounded above the roaring fire, the two turning to find walkers mindlessly shambling towards the remaining students. Some of them had managed to catch fire as well, ruling out anything but their bows.

AJ was less concerned about the fire. The young boy bolted for the gate and was nearly to the inferno when Violet managed to grab him, dragging him away from it even as he tried to break her grip. “Let go! They have Clem! Why won't you help me?!”

“Help them, I'll keep AJ back!” She commanded him. Louis couldn't argue if he wanted to as he aimed his bow and prayed he'd actually hit his target for once. The first arrow struck in the walker's arm, distracting it from the others but unfortunately resulting in a very pissed off flaming corpse making its way towards him. 

_ “Why'd they have to be on fire? Are bites just not good enough on their own anymore?”  _ He subconsciously quipped to himself before loading another arrow. This one managed to hit the brain, sending the shambling monster to the ground with a grotesque spurt of aged blood. He felt a boney hand grab his shoulder, sending a jolt of terror through him moments before another shot sounded off. He could feel the hot lead speed past him as it left the undead assailant’s cranium. 

A still furious looking AJ was holding a smoking pistol, Louis shakily giving him a thumbs up while silently hoping  _ he  _ wasn't the young boy's intended mark. Violet had apparently convinced him to stay at least for the moment.

A few more walkers came to the courtyard, but it seemed the battle was winding down. The remaining dead were easily dispatched as they arrived. At last, an almost complete silence descended upon the school, with only the crackling of fire and Willy's sobbing over Mitch's still form making themselves heard.

“Okay, the monsters are dead. Now we go get Clem.” The youngest survivor announced determinedly. The exhausted teenagers looked at him pitifully, Louis deciding to take the burden upon himself.

“Hey, little man. We…  _ fuck _ ,” He swore under his breath as he tried figuring out how the hell to explain to a six year old that they can't save what is effectively his mom. “We can't. Not right now.”

The child's face darkened in a way entirely too adult for his young features. A part of Lou couldn't help but feel intimidated. “Why not?! The monsters are DEAD! The raiders are gone and they have her! Clem saved this place! Don't you care?!”

Each word was like a ton of concrete being dumped on his heart. Guilt and sympathy for the kid he once hated piled on each other in a crushing weight upon him. A quick glance at their unexpected leader showed similar mounting anguish.

“You can't chase them, AJ! Half of us are dead or got taken, and the rest of us can barely even stand. They… they're gone...” Violet lamented, struggling for composure. Both her and Louis’ minds raced, the adrenalin wearing off and the reality of it all catching up to them. It was bad enough for Louis to have lost three friends, but if his hunch was right, Violet had just lost so much more than that. Without adrenaline, Louis’ body ached like nothing he'd felt before but simultaneously refused to relax either, caught in a hellish limbo of exhaustion and alertness that constantly sabotaged one or the other.

AJ slumped defeatedly, an uncharacteristic look of loss etched onto his face. Violet wasn't fairing much better, with only her years of experience of hiding her feelings keeping her from howling in despair. She noticed movement in the corner of her eye, clenching her fists when she saw who it was and quickly feeling the hopelessness turn to cold fury.

“We're getting them back.” She said definitively.

“How? We still don't know where they are, or-” He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a grunt of pain. He turned to find Violet kicking a crawling Abel onto his back and glaring down at him. “On second thought, I think you're onto something.”

***

Sunlight streamed through the small windows and cracks along the upper walls of the basement, tinting the room a hazy orange. Rosie laid solemnly in the corner as the two de facto leaders of Erikson's made their way down the stairs. Louis felt a pang for her; she had lost two masters in as many weeks. Despite the grim circumstances bringing him down here, he took a moment to kneel down and pet the aging guard dog. “Hey girl. You doing okay?”

Rosie only gave a quiet groan in response. He turned to find Violet looking expectantly at him, and just past her, the man of the hour knocked out cold. His face fell and he got back to his feet before the pair moved into the makeshift interrogation room. “So… how should we wake-”

Violet marched up to Abel and slammed his head against a nearby table… and then did it again, and again. Abel had woken up after the first and had subsequently started shouting in pain. Before she could do it again, Louis grabbed her arm. “Jesus, Vi! He has to have a brain  _ left  _ to tell us where they are!”

The already tortured man was breathing heavily, glaring up at the blonde.

“Wha-WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” He demanded. Violet glared at him stepping towards him threateningly.

“What's wrong is that you kidnapped my friends. Tell me where they are. Now!” She raised a fist once more.

Abel laughed mirthlessly. “You've never done this before, have you? I can't tell you shit if I pass out from the pain.”

Louis stepped between them, holding out his hands. “Let's just take a second to calm down, alright? Abel, right?” He asked somewhat genuinely, trying to recall what the brunette raider had called the man when they cornered Clementine. “I don't like watching Violet using you as a punching bag, and I'm pretty sure you aren't liking it on the receiving end. So how about you do us both a favor and tell us where our friends are?”

Abel scoffed, slouching in his seat. “Lily'll never give them back, you know. Whole reason we came here was for manpower. She  _ will  _ be back for me, though. Can't imagine she'll be too happy when she arrives and I'm a mess of black and blue,” He said matter-of-factly. Glancing around, he gave a small grin. “Can't help but notice that Clementine girl isn't here. You know, if ya treat me badly, maybe she'll decide to get even and do the same to her.”

Before Louis could even blink, Violet had pulled out her knife and shoved it into the man's knee. Abel's face contorted in agony while the teenager's was still frozen in spiteful hatred. She slowly twisted it inside his leg. “Where. Is. She?!”

The captured raider's eyes flicked to Louis. “F-fuck! Stop this fuckin psycho! Get her away from me!”

The optimistic survivor forced himself to look at them despite the sickening feeling in his gut. “If you tell us where to find Clementine and everyone else, I'd be more than happy to. Are a bunch of child-slaving assholes really worth all this?”

Violet twisted the blade further for emphasis. Louis couldn't bear it anymore, looking away from his longtime friend's sadistic treatment of their prisoner. Finally, he seemed to crack. “All right! All right. I'll tell you where they are if she gets the hell away from me!”

Violet glanced at the musician and slowly pulled the knife out. She walked to the wall and leaned against it as Louis slowly approached him. “Front pocket. It'll tell you all you need to know.”

Lou reached inside and took out what he could only describe as a joint. Inspecting it, he raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what exactly does divine cooking advice have to do with finding our friends?”

A laugh managed to escape the man. “I was hopin’ for some timely moralistic shit about turning the other cheek. With all those hits to the head Blondie over there gave me, I'm havin’ a hard time remembering things. A smoke'll clear my mind, though.”

Louis could tell when he was being played. “Sure it's because of that, and not because you wanna get high off whatever the hell you rolled into these? Yeah, no. I'm not dumb,” He taunted, tossing it to the corner of the room. “Oh well, I tried to be good cop. Vi?”

Abel suddenly exploded into a fit of coughs before blood flew out of his mouth. Louis jumped back in horror, staring wide-eyed at him. Abel heaved for breath, wheezing while a metallic stench filled the room. “Oh my god…”

Even Violet's loathing gaze shifted to slight pity as he shuddered in agony. “Somethin musta burst… when she pushed me off that balcony. Shit… I never wanted things to end like this. It all got outta hand…”

Lou suddenly regretted his callousness towards the man. “There's still time to do the right thing, Abel, but there's not a lot of it.” He couldn't hide the sympathy from his voice if he tried.

Abel looked him in the eyes, the raider's own mismatched irises widened in fear “... kid. I don't wanna turn… promise me you'll kill me before that, and I'll tell you everything. Just promise me that...” He trailed off, audibly struggling to breathe.

“We won't let it happen. I promise.” He ignored Violet's disapproving look. After a few seconds, the dying raider finally relented. 

“We have a boat… a few miles west of here. You'll find yer friends there…” He shook violently, starting to choke up. “I gave you what you wanted… please…”

Louis closed his eyes, nodding. He could already tell this would bother him for a long, long time. “Violet? I don't think I- could you-”

The young woman gave a small nod. “Yeah. You don't have to stick around,” She reassured her friend. Looking at the man she had tortured, she adjusted her grip on her knife. He stood up, casting one last glance at him before moving to leave the basement. He pretended that he didn't hear the wet  _ shlink _ of a knife puncturing bone and flesh as he went up.

_ “God… would Clem be okay with this? Of course she would, right? She'd do the same if it were Vi or me…” _

***

Clementine blinked at the dim light streaming into her cell, blearily opening her eyes. Her head was throbbing and brain sluggish as she struggled to get to her feet. The young woman didn't recognize the rusted steel room around her. “Where…” She trailed off, mouth too dry to comfortably speak. The almost unnatural blackness of her cell didn't help her already disjointed internal clock. Metal scratching against metal sounded off behind her, Clementine instinctively whipping around to face it. She regretted it as another sharp pain stung in her mind, her concussion reasserting itself with a vengeance.

A tray of food was pushed under the door before slamming shut again. “Eat. Be grateful, too. We're giving you the best,” Her apparent guard instructed with slight bitterness infecting her tone. She was a redhead with a light scar over her left eyebrow, an almost bored expression adorning her weathered face. She moved on before Clementine could respond.

She glanced at the food mostly out of morbid curiosity of what 'the best’ actually means as a prisoner. 

To her surprise, however, actual food awaited her. A small cob of corn and what looked like a pair of pork chops sat on the plate, all too reminiscent of old world meals. She turned away lest she be tempted to try it. Dull aches pulsed in her stomach as a painful indication of how long it had been since she was captured but she refused to give in. Not only was it a matter of principle, but the last time strangers gave her such an authentic looking meal, she nearly ate someone's legs. Once bitten twice shy and all that.

The brunette rose to her feet with a muffled groan. Her blow to the head was still leaving her a bit unsteady and dizzy, but she had enough strength of mind to inspect her surroundings. The door could barely be called such, nothing but sheet metal haphazardly welded to iron bars and a window for her captors to look in. The rest of the room was equally unimpressive, scuffed metal floors and walls with only a cot in one corner of the room.

_ “Somehow still better than Prescott's jail,”  _ She mused, making her lips just barely tilt up subconsciously. Alas, there was no time for reverie. It was no surprise when she reached for her knife and found it missing but an annoyance all the same. The back end of the room provided nothing useful, but taking another look at the door revealed her ticket out: the metal sheet blocking access to the lockbar was only held in place by two rusty screws. Clem looked back at the food tray. It wasn't a great idea, but it was her best her so far. Dumping the food on the floor, she got to work chipping away at the screws with the somewhat flimsy object. If worse came to worst and it broke, at least she could use it as a makeshift knife.

After a couple minutes, the top screw was destroyed. Before she could start on the second, however, she heard voices and footsteps approaching. She backed away from the door and waited. Sure enough, the ginger was back and keeping a crossbow trained on Omar as she forced him back into his cell and locked it. “Omar! Are you-” The crossbow turned to her.

“Shut up and step back. Lily wants to see you.”

Biting her tongue, Clementine pressed herself against the wall. With each footfall down the hall, she debates whether she should try to attack her captor. She's outnumbered and completely outgunned, but she could get her by surprise. If she were quick, she might even manage to dodge the crossbow bolt entirely. By the time she reached the door, Clem realized her plans were shot based on the pistol she found pointed at her head. Lily smirked at how Clem's eyes darkened. She nodded to the guard to open the door and stepped inside a moment later, still holding her old acquaintance in squarely place. The raider glanced at the trashed food on the ground and lost her smile. “Did Lee teach you to be this wasteful, or were you always just an ungrateful brat?” 

Clementine stayed silent, eying the violent woman warily. Lily realized this approach was getting her nowhere, so she changed up tactics. “You remember my father, Larry? He set up rules from a young age. Taught me discipline, restraint, everything someone needs to survive a place like this,” She drew like closer, Clem subconsciously inching closer to the wall. “But among all his rules, one stood out: don't waste. He hated waste more than anything.”

“I remember he hated kids, too. Is that why you grew up to be such a-”

A bullet whizzed by her head before she even heard the gun fire. Clementine froze, not daring to move an inch lest Lily decide to end the story prematurely. The older brunette glared at her warningly. “The point being,” She slowly growled, “Waste was bad enough before the world went to shit. These days? It's enough to get you shot. Minerva?”

Clementine's eyes widened as the long lost twin aimed the crossbow at Omar and and unconscious Aasim with little hesitation in threatening her former friends. “Minerva? You're with them?” She glanced at Clementine, but otherwise refused to acknowledge her. “Why are you helping them?!”

“Because Minerva saw that we're worth fighting for. That it's a bad idea to waste a chance for a better life. You'll see that too, eventually.”

Anger spiked within the young survivor. “Bullshit! You shot AJ and killed Mitch! I'd die before I  _ ever _ work for you!”

Lily smirked again. “Maybe, but would you let them die first? Here's the deal, Clementine: you're going to stop being so wasteful and eat, or I'm going to kill one of your friends and lock the other in with his corpse. I don't think a walker would pass on a good meal,” Lily threatened, Minerva steadying her aim at the two for emphasis. 

“You wouldn't kill them. Your friends wouldn't be happy if you only came back with one soldier, would they?” Clementine argued, not falling for the raider's power play.

“They wouldn't, which is why we'd have to go back and get the rest of your friends. There's plenty of you left to go through.”

Clem's mind raced. She couldn't allow her friends to be hurt, but bending to Lily's demands was almost as bad a move. There was no way she could win with two armed enemies clearly willing to murder teenagers if it suited them and no weapon. Lily's eyes narrowed as her patience started to run out before Clementine closed her eyes.

“Fine. I'll eat it.”

Lily smiled, nearly genuine but tainted by the underlying sadism of her personality. “What was that? I couldn't hear you.”

“I said I'll eat the damn food!”

“Good. Minerva, make sure she follows through on that,” Lily ordered as she turned and walked out the door. She stopped, glancing back at her old acquaintance. “I'm glad you're reasonable, Clementine. That'll make this all so much easier.”

Left alone in the dark cell and a crossbow trained on her, Clem reluctantly fulfilled the deal. Better to fold on this and win later. In the meantime, she needed to come up with a plan and hope her friends at Ericson's were doing the same. 

 


	2. Seeing Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis, Violet, and AJ form a plan to infiltrate the Delta's ship. Meanwhile, Clementine faces the mistakes of her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a little under two weeks! Not bad, by my standards. Hope you enjoy!

_“You go with that feelin' ya got right now, Clementine._

_It's what makes you stronger than the rest of 'em.”_

 

Of the many things Clementine had grown to hate over the years on the road, the all too familiar feeling of captivity had to be towards the top of the list. Four drab walls and someone itching for an excuse to kill her just outside the locked door at all hours of the day and not even some sunlight to know how much time had passed had been her existence for anywhere from hours to possibly days. To make matters worse, they had confiscated the tray, making it impossible to chip away at the lock short of straight up kicking it. She considered it for a moment, but shook her head. That would gain nothing but a crossbow bolt from Violet's former love or whoever else was watching them right now. Out of options and with nothing better to do, Clem laid in bed and glowered at the ceiling while she attempted to think of a semi-decent plan.

_“Breaking the door open is a no-go as long as I'm unarmed. I need something sharp. Where can I-”_

**BANG BANG**

The sound reverberated in the tiny cell as Clem leapt to her feet in a startle. A shadow formed in the doorway, a rifle in hand. Clearly someone other than Minerva. “Come out where I can see you. You're coming with me,” The new guard ordered. Clementine slowly stepped into the dim light with her hands up. She recognized the woman as a raider she trapped behind a couch, slightly surprised she was still alive after the fire. The Delta soldier kept a gun trained on her as she unlatched the cell and motioned her prisoner to step out of the cell. “You're walking in front. Try anything and you catch a bullet.”

The young brunette marched along the path as instructed, taking notes of the boat's interior and inhabitants. At her count, there were at least six raiders including Lily and Minerva. It was actually a bit surprising that the school outnumbered them, but the arms advantage the enemy possessed more than evened out the odds between them. One more turn and she was blinded by the unforgiving brightness of the sun. She stumbled back a step as her eyes were seared. Her guard rolled her eyes and shoved the stock of her rifle into Clem's back and sent her tumbling forwards. “Move it! I don't have all day!” The chubby woman shouted at her.

Clementine regained her balance despite the pain coursing through her. She bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at the bitch, seething as she continued her march. At last, she reached the bridge. Lily was at the back of the room looking over some sort of chalkboard spreadsheet. She turned at the sound of the door being opened, nodding to the other Delta member. “Thank you, Sullene. I'll take it from here.”

Sullene gave a sharp nod and left, presumably returning to whatever her usual post was. Clementine looked over the room. The front end of the room consisted mainly of the ship's operational instruments while the center and back of the room seemed to serve as an operation center of sorts. Maps and papers littered the bridge, some covered in makeshift models while others simply had pins. There wasn't much time to dwell, however, as Clementine's former friend turned her attention to her.

“Clementine. It's been a while.”

She rolled her eyes. “If you consider a day to be a while, then yeah, it has.”

Lily shook her head. “Sense of time is the first thing to go when you're locked away, Clem. That was two weeks ago.”

It was like a record had scratched. Clementine paused, racking her brain to try and piece together a timeline. It was night when she was originally captured, and it wasn't likely she was knocked out for more than a couple hours at worst before she woke up. She had been up for at least an hour or two before falling asleep again, so that must mean… “You're lying. There's no way it's been more than a day! You might be able to pull your games on the others, but I know better. I know _you_.”

Lily simply looked on at her for a few more moments. At last, she relented. “Not bad. Your friend fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Weak, easily manipulated. He won't last long. Seems like most of your friends are like that,” She moved from the board, strolling towards Clementine casually. “Lee was a bastard, but I'll give him this: he made a survivor out of you. A soldier. You and him have something everyone at that motel and that school put together lack: the will to do what's needed to live. But everyone has a weakness, Clem. His was you. And yours is that kid. AJ, was it?”

Clementine's face darkened in a way that Lily found delightful based on the sadistic joy in her eyes. The cold, hateful glare the imprisoned leader wore only seemed to bring satisfaction to her captor. “Don't you _dare_ talk about him.”

“I told you when we first met again that he'd get you killed, but maybe it'll be the other way around. You could give him a better life with us, or you could get him killed fighting me. He wouldn't be the first. Is that what you want, Clementine? For him to die?”

Pure silence was the only response. Lily glanced at the girl's fists, smirking at how white the knuckles had become. She clearly struck a nerve. “What would you do to protect him? Hand over your friends? Shoot the people I tell you to? We could use someone like you. You're the best present the Delta could ever get. Smarter than the rest. _Stronger_ than the rest. With enough time, maybe you can even become a leader, you and AJ both. You-”

“-have already heard this before. I knew it was bullshit when I was eleven, and I know it now. If you want to set me up as the next leader of all this, don't bother. Wasn't interested the first time,” Clementine interrupted daringly. Interest flashed in the raider's eyes while the sudden anger at being interrupted dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

“Oh? Is that so?” She questioned, approaching the younger survivor. “And why is that?”

“Because the last person who gave me this talk was the same as you: a murderous, psychotic asshole. He killed or maimed anyone who failed him, and then he finally met someone who wasn't afraid of him. When that happened, he got what he deserved.”

Lily chuckled, clearly unimpressed with what Clementine was implying. “Let me guess, you kicked him out? Left him behind?”

“No. I helped Kenny bash his skull in with a crowbar.”

Lily instantly lost any hint of humor. Faint horror crossed her face as the full extent of Clem's words settled in. The young survivor stepped towards Lily threateningly. “I killed Lee of all people, Lily. I killed Carver, I tried to kill Abel, and I WILL kill you if you even think about hurting him. You're not the only one who can make threats _and_ follow up on them.”

For quite some time, the former leader of the Motor Inn had nothing to say. After the shock subsided, she narrowed her eyes judgmentally. “You little monster. What would Lee think?”

“ _I'm. Not. Lee._ ”

The two stood in absolute silence. Through Lily's harsh glare glinted something deep within, something Clem never expected to see from Lily: respect, and a twinge of fear. The raider boss looked to the window, noticing Sullene had returned to take the prisoner back. “We're done here. I tried to help you, and you refused. Anything that happens from here on out is your fault,” Lily spat the words out like poison. The teenager turned and exited the room, once again leaving Lily all alone.

Clementine was too pissed off to care that she still lacked a weapon. How DARE Lily threaten to kill her son?! She'd pay for it. For Mitch. For every other life she ever ruined. Clementine would make sure of it.

***

The only sound in the air was their falling footsteps as Violet, Louis, and AJ marched west towards the supposed boat waiting in the river. Quiet was hardly a negative to Violet, but she could tell it was only adding to everyone else's unease. Hell, Louis hadn't made even a half-joke since interrogating Abel. She could read his uneasiness like a book, a part of her regretting being so ruthless in front of him. The guy couldn't even kill rabbits without feeling guilty and now he had helped torture a man to death, inadvertently though it might have been.

AJ looked similarly miserable. The kid hadn't gotten a wink of sleep but positively refused to be left behind on the scouting mission. Violet _tried_ to leave him at the school, only to notice him trailing the duo about halfway to the river. He had stuck by Louis’ side since being discovered but hadn't said a word in at least an hour. Still, the silence was starting to become rather draining even to her. She opened her mouth to speak until an odd shape caught her eye. She squinted and noticed something definitively man-made beyond the trees. “Guys, look.” The two other troubled youths looked up and noticed it as well, crouching down as they approached. It became more and more clear to the trio with each step that they had found the boat. Louis crouched next to a rock, taking out a pair of binoculars. Violet and AJ huddled close by. “What do you see?”

Louis hummed a little. “Well, if I were a kidnapping prick with a boat, this is definitely the type of set up I'd have. Looks like the pier's the only way up to that old-timey riverboat. It has a good amount of cover, though. There's a couple doors into it, but they're sealed off except for a hole at the top.”

AJ spoke up. “I can do those. Clem taught me how to do it.”

Violet raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. She wasn't the one that had to raise a kid from birth in a dead world, after all. She looked over the boat as best she could without any tools. “I don't see anywhere obvious they'd keep prisoners. Should've asked Abel,” She thought aloud.

“Don't boats usually have brigs? Probably somewhere below deck… gotta be honest, I was expecting like a speeder or something, not Steamboat Willie. They've got some supplies tied to the dock. They'd look a lot better at the school, don't you think?”

Their young stowaway piped up. He was using his hands as impromptu binoculars to scope out the boat. “They've got horses over there. Some hay, too.”

“We could set the hay on fire while someone steals the supplies,” Violet suggested. Lou nodded a bit.

“Good idea. Ruby'll be bummed, though. She'd probably give an arm and a leg for a horse. There's a couple guards- shit! I see Clem!” He whisper-shouted. Violet's eyes went wide.

“Where?! Is she okay?”

“She's gone, stepped behind a wall. I didn't see anything, but I don't know for sure.”

Hope surged inside the nineteen year old. “Abel wasn't lying,” She said in relief. She looked at AJ, seeing the same light in his gaze.

“Uh, Vi? There's a problem. The pier's got a bunch of cover, but the path to it is wide open. We'll need a distraction, and something tells me Christmas carols won't work nearly as well on living people…”

Almost as if on cue, a raider's voice rang from the boat. The guard announced walkers to his buddies, three or four of them approaching the boat before getting mowed down in a hail of gunfire. Violet got an idea as she watched the bodies fall. “Maybe if we could get a few walkers on the beach, we could slip past.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Great, we only need what? A dozen walkers?”

“James could help. He can get walkers to do what he wants. He saved me and Clem by sending a bunch of 'em after Lily when I got shot.”

Vi thinned her lips. “Clementine mentioned him. Are you sure he'll help?”

“He's my friend. I'm sure.”

Louis hesitated for a moment before smiling. “Well then, hell yeah. How much does he charge for his… services?”

AJ got up and motioned for them to follow. Only a few minutes into the walk, however, a person came into view. The getup made it rather clear that the mystery woman was in the Delta, making them run for cover. Louis grabbed AJ and hid behind a tree while Violet went for the bushes. The raider didn't seem to notice, continuing to chop wood. She pulled her knife and began creeping up on her, but couldn't shake the feeling of knowing whoever this was. A faint humming reached her ears, and suddenly it clicked.

“M-Minerva?”

The axe dropped suddenly as the redhead turned to face her. Violet's heart stopped as she saw the girlfriend she'd mourned for an entire year in the flesh. Minnie wasn't any different, stunned and somewhere between joy and heartbreak. A stunned Louis and skeptical AJ revealed themselves, nobody quite sure what to say. Actions spoke louder than words as Violet stepped closer and embraced her love turned raider. Minerva returned the hug quietly, still too surprised to speak. “Hey, Minnie…” Lou finally managed. Their long lost friend softly broke the hug, facing both of them.

“After the attack, I wasn't sure. I mean, I heard they burned half your school down… who survived? Ruby, Mitch? Brody? Tenn?”

“Ruby and Tenn are okay. Mitch got killed, and Brody…” The pianist trailed off. Violet finished it for him.

“Marlon killed Brody the night we found out about the trade. He's gone, too.”

“What?” The redhead gasped. Louis nodded remorsefully, trying not to look at AJ. Violet realized something was missing.

“Minnie… where's Sophie?”

Loss flashed over the student-turned-raider's face. “She… died protecting the Delta. A hero.”

Louis grimaced, shaking his head. Violet took Minerva's hand in hers. “Minnie. Come back with us. You don't have to stay with them anymore, we can fight them!” She pleaded. Her former girlfriend stepped out of the hold, dread spreading across her face.

“No! No, don't. Fighting them is only going to get you killed. Clementine lied to you, the Delta can't be beaten. Her leadership will put you all in the ground.”

Violet's eyes widened in disbelief. “You're wrong, Minnie. Clem protected us!”

“Yeah? Then why are so many people dead?”

Louis scoffed in clear shock of what he was hearing. “Uh, because your boss came in to kidnap us! What were we supposed to do, let them?!”

“Yes. At least then you'd live.” She turned away, looking to the boat in the distance. “Abel figured he could talk Marlon into handing everyone over, like he and Lily did… before. Your friend ruined the whole plan, and now all of you are in danger.”

Rage shot up inside the introverted leader of Ericson's. “What the hell?! Marlon threw you and Sophie away! THAT'S better than fighting?!”

Minerva glared at them. “We survived it! Marlon wouldn't have staged a fight that got people killed!”

“Marlon was a fucking coward! Do you hear yourself?!” Violet demanded, not noticing how much her voice was raising. AJ and Louis started looking around for any movement as the two continued their argument. AJ tugged on Louis’ coat.

“Look! Someone's coming!” He announced, getting Minerva and Violet's attention. They ran back to the tree while Minerva became stiff and turned towards the trail.

“Minerva!”

“Rockingham!”

A large woman with dark skin approached, a scoped rifle in hand. “Lily wants you back ‘fore dark. Get it done quick.”

Minerva glanced at her old friends, a mental war visible in her eyes. For a moment, Violet thought she was actually going to sell them out. Mercifully, her ex-girlfriend replied with a simple “Yes ma'am.” and nothing else. Once the other raider was gone, the group came back out. Any hint of confliction in Minerva's gaze was gone now. “Listen. The boat leaves for the Delta in two days, and then it'll be a couple weeks before they come back for you. When they do, let them. It'll be better for everyone.”

All of Violet's heartbreak shifted into disgust in that moment.

“Was it better for Sophie?”

Minerva's face turned to stone. She closed her eyes and began walking towards her fellow Delta soldiers. “Two weeks. I'll do what I can for your friend, but you _have_ to surrender then.”

She didn't wait for a response before leaving Louis, Violet, and AJ alone. AJ looked to his friends sympathetically. “Are you guys gonna be okay?”

Violet took a deep breath, not making eye contact. “Nothing's changed. We still need to get on that boat and save our friends.” Her optimistic friend stayed quiet for once, merely nodding in agreement. After a moment, she shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand. “Do you know where we can find James?”

AJ nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Follow me,” He told them. With little else to go on, the pair of teenagers followed their captive friend's adopted son further into the woods.

***

Some time later, the trio were still looking for Clementine's eccentric savior. Once again, they had descended into an awkward silence that nobody was quite sure how to break. Violet was still shaken up from the encounter from Minerva, and the meeting likely hadn't helped Louis’ already troubled thoughts. Suddenly, AJ came to a stop, hissing in pain. Louis spun to him in less than a second, already at eye-level with the boy before Violet could even turn. It was remarkable how much the pair's relationship had changed in just two weeks, not that the blonde was complaining. “You alright, AJ?” He asked with a heavy layer of concern.

“It feels like someone pinched me from the inside,” He complained, hunched over a little. Violet spotted a relatively even rock nearby.

“We can stop here, at least until AJ's better,” She pointed out. Louis led AJ to it and had him sit on it, taking a seat next to him. “Just a pinch, right? Not like a rip or something?”

“Just a pinch. Still hurts, though…” The young survivor's voice fell away. About half a minute later, he piped up again. “Louis?”

“Yeah, little man?”

“Minerva's your friend, right?”

Violet pretended not to hear, looking out to the forest. Louis took a moment before replying, “Yeah. She is.”

“But she's with the raiders.”

“... Yeah. She is.” He repeated melancholily.

“Is she going to atone, too?”

Violet didn't even have to look at her friend to know he had an expression that no doubt screamed he would rather be surrounded by walkers than answer that question. She could feel his eyes desperately looking to her for help, but she couldn't yet bring herself to say anything about the girl she used to love. Defeatedly, Louis looked back to AJ. “I… don't know, buddy. I hope she does, but it's probably gonna be really hard for her. She's been away a long time.”

AJ considered this, his young features furrowed in rumination. “I guess that makes sense. When I was really little, some people took me away from Clem. I didn't see her for so long that when she found me again, I didn't recognize her. It took weeks before I'd be okay alone with her.”

 _“Clem lost AJ?”_ Violet noted curiously. Maybe she should ask her about that some day. For the moment, though, she turned back to her friends. Louis was looking a little more confident in his entirely off the cuff life lesson session.

“Yeah. It's a lot like that. It'll just take time. Like Omar's stews, they need the right amount of time or everyone gets pissed.”

AJ didn't laugh, much to Louis’ disappointment. The boy looked lost in thought. “Are there things you can't atone for? Or if you do bad things too much, can you not make up for it anymore?”

Violet and Louis shared a look. _“Jesus. Is this the kind of thing he and Clem talk about when we're not around?”_

“Vi, you want to take this one?”

She froze as AJ had turned to her. _“You asshole! Why would you put ME on the spot of all people?”_

Her frustration at Louis aside, AJ was expecting an answer, and this _was_ the sort of thing everyone had to figure out eventually. She just wished he didn't have to learn it when most kids would be learning how to write. Violet forced herself to look AJ in the eye. “It… kinda depends on the person, AJ. Some people will forgive almost anything. Some never get over grudges,” She explained, voice wilting a little as she realized how familiar the second one sounded. Pushing past that, she continued. “People won't forgive unless they want to, so all a person can really do is try.”

AJ slowly nodded. “Trying to be better. Like me. I hope she tries. I think I'd forgive her.” He said, raising himself off the rock. “I'm good now. We should be close.”

Violet simply nodded, nothing further to say. Frankly, as much as she liked the kid, AJ's far too adult mindset truly unnerved her at times. What kind of kid asks questions like that? He was like an even more morbid Tenn. Still, at least he seemed to take their words to heart. The trio got back to their feet and continued along AJ's invisible path.

It wasn’t long before the familiar groaning of the dead reached their ears, each of them dropping to a crouch and readying their weapons. Violet took the lead with her knife out, AJ following close behind while Louis covered the rear. Sure enough, a swarm of walkers were bumbling about nearby. AJ studied them before shaking his head. “I don’t see James, just monsters…” Someone cleared their throat from behind and nearly got bludgeoned by Chairles for their effort, Louis just barely missing the surprisingly good looking man with human-skin gloves. Violet was about to raise her knife before AJ enthusiastically called out, “James!”

The man they were searching for put a finger over his mouth, AJ quieting himself down instantly. Violet’s eyes drifted to the bandages on his arm, a touch of blood showing through the fabric. Between his gunshot wound and what was likely the ruins of his camp up ahead, what had happened seemed pretty obvious. “Raiders did this, right? Did you see if they had anyone locked up?”

He nodded. “It looked like they... had people from your school. Is that why you’re here?”

“They have Clem. We need your help, James,” AJ told him. A look of pity crossed the older survivor’s face.

“I could… maybe help, but… my mask is still in the camp. In the bag. I can’t pass through a herd without it.”

Louis nodded, lightly bouncing the chair leg in his hand. “You got it, chief. One walker mask coming right up!” He announced, about to vault over the log before James held out his hand.

“Wait. Please, I just ask that you don’t kill them.”

“Them?”

“The walkers. If you distract them, I can sneak over and find my mask.”

Violet scoffed lightly before she could stop herself, feeling guilty when James looked at her pleadingly.

“Distract ALL of them?” AJ questioned.

“Please…” James requested again. She and AJ both turned to Louis, who was already shrugging in slight defeat.

“Yeah, I know, distraction duty is on me. Carol of the Bells or Joy to the World this time?”

“Just go, Louis!”

Their walker-bait friend rolled his eyes and vaulted over the log, whistling out to the dead. They turned to him, letting out a hiss that he countered with a joke. “Yeah, that’s usually how Violet greets me too. You guys are definitely more enthusiastic about it though!”

As soon as the walkers moved away from the camp, James, Violet, and AJ ran in and began rummaging around the cluttered campsite. Violet could see Louis easily outpacing the walkers, occasionally caving one’s leg in with a hit from Chairles. Or, at least, he was until he managed to trip on an unseen tree root. He scrambled to his feet almost instantly, but in that brief time a walker had gotten within inches of him. “LOUIS! LOOK OUT!”

He spun around and stuck his weapon out just in time, the corpse biting into the spiked wood instead of his flesh. Violet bolted towards him, bringing out her knife and shoving it into its skull on instinct. Lou ripped the unwieldy device out of its mouth and ran away from the rapidly approaching mob. Regret flashed in James’ features before shaking his head. “I can’t find it! The horses must have-”

AJ ran past all three of them, bag in hand. They weren’t even sure when he had stepped away or when he’d gotten the bag, but the approaching walkers left little time for rumination. “Run!”

They didn’t bother arguing. It was at least a few minutes of running before they finally came to a pause, only now trusting the distance between themselves and the walkers. AJ handed the bag to James, the man accepting it with an appreciative nod. “Thank you, for helping me get this back.”

Violet fidgeted awkwardly. “I’m sorry. We tried to let them live.”

James nodded solemnly. “You kill the ones you have to. I can’t blame you for that. Now… how will walkers save your friends?”

“The assholes that tore up your camp and kidnapped our friends are on a boat nearby, buuuuut there’s no way we could get on board not full of holes unless we have some cover. Clem mentioned how you can manipulate walkers.” Louis explained.

The young man’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to use walkers to sneak aboard? That’s insane.”  
“ _That_ is our only shot. Come on, isn’t saving a bunch of innocent people worthwhile?”

James frowned, a mixture of emotions on his face. “... There’s something I need you to see. To understand what you’re asking of me.”

He began walking away from them without another word. AJ turned to the two of them. “We still need his help, right?”

Violet sighed, nodding. “Come on, Louis. Let’s see… whatever it is.”

***

After nearly half an hour of almost aimless marching, the four of them finally seemed to have reached whatever it was James wanted to show them. A large barn stood alone in the clearing with only ruins littering the area around it. It looked rather old, the once no-doubt vibrant red paint had faded to a pale salmon color and the windows were long-since shattered. James stopped suddenly, turning to his companions. “We're here. When you're ready, meet me by the door. Rest, if you have to.” He said before calmly walking towards the front of the barn.

While Violet would've been fine getting right to business, Louis and AJ took a moment to relax before seeing whatever it was their cryptic guide had in mind. Then again, perhaps a moment of rest would be good for her, too. She still hadn't really stopped since Clem- since last night. She shook her head to banish the thoughts. Louis was leaning against the wall casually while AJ was staring intensely at some sort of massive brick on the ground. The little boy turned to her with a curious expression. “What is it?”

Violet gave a slight shrug. “No clue.”

Louis suddenly got an all too familiar look of mischief on his face that always filled her with a mixture of intrigue and dread. “I'm pretty sure it's called a saltlick. Dare you to lick it!”

Vi knew where this was going. “Don-” The kid had already stuck his tongue out and briefly dragged it along the side of it. He promptly gagged, spitting wildly and groaning. Louis burst out laughing as AJ groaned in disgust, Violet stuck somewhere between wanting to scold Louis for his childishness and a shameful amusement at poor AJ. “Damn it, Louis!”

AJ shook his head a little. “It's so gross! Dares suck.”

Louis hadn't lost his shit-eating grin as he forced himself to stop laughing. “Indeed they do, little man. They're fun to watch, though.”

Violet rolled her eyes, mildly annoyed that it only made Louis’ grin grow wider. _“Dumbass,”_ She thought for what must have been the billionth time. Still, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't glad to have him around. AJ got to his feet and walked up to his pranking friend. “I dare _you_ to lick it!”

Louis’ face dropped like a rock. Violet couldn't help but smirk at his expression that seemed like a physical embodiment of 'oh shit’. Before he could even think of bullshitting his way out of it, she spoke up. “You heard him, Lou. A dare's a dare.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, no doubt plotting some awful joke to tell her later as payback. She watched as he reluctantly pulled himself off the wall and knelt down in front of the block. AJ was watching intensely with a smug glint in his eye, no doubt feeling clever for outwitting the older boy. Louis closed his eyes and sluggishly stuck out his tongue. After a few seconds, it touched the solid rock of salt. He immediately sputtered, a displeased cry escaping him at the horrid taste. He desperately scrubbed at his tongue in an attempt to rid it of the flavor to no avail. AJ's cackling gave a soundtrack to Louis’ exaggerated gagging and overly dramatic posing, Violet herself managing a chuckle at the sight. She glanced at James, a little surprised to find a ghost of a smile adorning the awkward twenty-something year old's face. Right. Time to get to work. She approached him, hearing Louis stop his act and stand up shortly after before running up to her side and addressing their possible ally. “So, what did you have in mind, Jay?”

He nodded, turning to the door. “My people… my former people, had a practice. They called it collecting,” James motioned for them to draw closer. When they did, he pushed the door in slightly, making them gasp as they saw what was within. Dozens of walkers aimlessly circled around the room, groaning and rotting. Louis stepped back in horror.

“Dude, why?” He said without thinking. Realizing he had just insulted the guy whom they desperately need help from, he attempted a less than smooth recovery. “I mean, I used to collect stamps. Collecting dead bodies that can eat you is a bit different, but still. Different strokes for different folks and all that.”

The former whisperer gently shut the door. “I know it sounds strange, but it's to protect them. That's why I brought you here,” James held out his mask as he made eye contact with the younger survivors. “If you want me to send the walkers, I want you to walk among them.”

At first, nobody spoke a word. The request had stunned the trio enough to make the soft, muffled moaning of the small herd audible through the walls. Louis was the first to break the silence with a hard refusal. “Are you joking? No! That's crazy! No way in hell are any of us walking through there.”

The pacifist didn't relent. “I need you to fully understand what you're asking of me. To fully understand them as I do; as people.”

Louis looked completely gobsmacked. “Let me get this straight: you think walkers, the rotting killing machines that ended the world, are people?”

James shifted, clearly uncomfortable with what Louis was implying. “Well, not people exactly, but… something else. There's a piece of us left after we turn, not living, not dead. A piece that doesn't deserve to be killed unless absolutely necessary.”

The pianist was visibly unconvinced. He turned to Violet with a shake of his head. “Okay, seeing as how dying horribly to a bunch of monsters throws a wrench in the plan, I say we find a new distraction. Vi? AJ?”

The unofficial leader of Ericson's hesitantly faced Clementine's eccentric friend. “Is this the only way you'll help?” She asked testingly. Her longtime friend was less patient.

“What? Violet, you can't be serious. That's a deathtrap!” He threw his arm out at the walker infested building. Before his rant could continue, AJ stepped forward.

“We need help, but I don't want you to get bit. But… if you don't, then Clem might get hurt. I think you should do it.” Uncertainty painted his young features as he spoke. Louis couldn't hide his disapproval.

“Violet, as King Louis the First, archduke of dumbassery, I can VERY firmly say that this is a bad idea!”

“What fucking choice do we have, Lou?! We _need_ these walkers. Do you think Clementine would still be out here dragging her feet if you were on that boat?” She countered sharply. Louis looked down, lips thinning.

“You know that's not fair, Vi…” AJ stood nearby, a mixture of emotions on his face, but an undeniable glint of hope in his eye. The musician sighed before glancing back at her. “Fine. Just… do me a favor and don't die. I'd really rather not have to _actually_ be King Louis around the school,” He relented with a faint smile. Violet nodded and turned to James.

“Alright. I'll do it.”

James handed her the leathery mass of skin, the blonde reluctantly pulling it over her face. “Touch the wind chime, and then you'll see. Just be slow, and gentle.”

The feeling of the mask was unsettlingly familiar and alien at the same time. The texture was pretty similar to normal Halloween masks from before, but the knowledge that it was made from human flesh made it sickening against her own. Years of living in the apocalypse had mercifully left her more or less noseblind to the stench of rotten flesh. The former whisperer opened the barn door for her and she forced her feet to push her onward, ignoring the adrenaline rapidly coursing through her with each and every step. The corpses hardly seemed to notice her arrival as they shambled about aimlessly, shoving each other when they got in the way. Violet slowly approached the glittering metal hanging from the back of the barn even as she felt a walker literally breathing down her neck. She bit her tongue to keep from making noise.

After what felt like hours, she finally reached her target. Of course, the walker that seemed to be guarding it prevented any sort of relief as she hesitantly raised her hand towards the wind chime. It was shaking even when her fingers finally touched the decoration and sent off a cascade of almost musical clanking. Easily over a dozen dead turned their foggy eyes towards her, making her freeze. To her surprise, however, they weren't hissing that awful noise they did whenever something with a pulse came to their attention. Instead, they seemed to be quietly fascinated by the directionless melody. Through the fear, the young woman felt an odd sense of peace. For the first time in her life, she saw walkers just… existing. Seeing the dead simply being there without murderous intent was bizarre.

Regardless, Violet took the opportunity to slip out before any of them could notice her. Sunlight momentarily blinded her as she stepped outside of the dim building, closing the door and taking off the walker disguise. AJ ran up to her, concern clear on his face. “Are you okay? No bites?”

“I'm fine, AJ. I promise,” She reassured the child. Louis was visibly relieved at her return. Before he could say anything however, James approached.

“So… do you still think they're just 'monsters’?”

Violet paused. If she were being honest with herself, it still didn't change anything. Walkers were walkers, nothing more. But would saying that make him refuse to help? Even if she lied, would he realize it and refuse anyway? He was awkward, but seemed exceptionally good at reading people like books. She decided honesty would be the best option, cliche as it might seem. “In a way, yeah. If there is anything left of a person inside them, it's obviously not enough for them to keep control. They're basically wild animals that used to be living people. “

James frowned slightly as he took back the mask. “I thought you'd say something like that. I… I'm sorry, I can't help you. I thought I could, but I can't. So many of them would die…” James said, looking away.

Louis scoffed in surprised annoyance. “Seriously? Even after we did your walker waltz, you're backing out?! You realize I almost died distracting them, right?”

He still refused to meet their gaze. “I know. I thank you for sparing them despite the danger, and I truly hope you can save your friends, but I cannot sacrifice so many.”

Before Louis and James could argue any further, Violet stepped towards him. “Have you ever loved someone, James?”

“... What?”

She drew closer to him. “I had a girlfriend, and then the raiders took her from me. Now they're doing it _again_. If someone you loved was taken from you, wouldn't you give anything to get them back?”

Her words hung in the air for a long moment. James turned his head to her slowly. “… I'm stubborn, but not heartless. Meet me by the dock tomorrow night, and be ready. I can't take this back.”

AJ's face lit up as he ran up to the man that saved his life and hugged his legs. “Thank you, James. For helping us save Clem.” A surprised James awkwardly returned the gesture before the boy went back to the two teenagers. Violet gave an appreciative nod before starting the trek back to the school. Once they were far enough away, the former whisperer donned his mask once more and opened the door.

***

Clem opened her eyes, shooting up with a start. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she scanned the room in a panic. Much to her confusion, she wasn't locked inside the brig aboard the Delta's ship. Rather, she had somehow ended up in her room at the school. Suspicion filled her as she steadied her breathing and slowly slipped out of bed, reaching for her knife. “AJ?” She called out.

“Through here, Clem!” His upbeat voice sounded from behind the door, filling her with relief. She slipped her blade back into the holster and calmly walked through the door. It didn't lead to the long halls of Ericson's, however. As she stepped inside, she found herself in the courtyard of the school which was uncharacteristically barren, aside from a grinning AJ in the center of it. Rain poured from the darkened clouds above, occasional flashes of thunder illuminating the abandoned school.

“Why didn't you come get me, goofball?” She asked with a smile as she approached her son.

“I don't know, Clem. Why didn't you come get me?” A scratchy, accented voice questioned from behind. Clementine knew it better than almost anyone, and hearing it again made her blood run cold.

“K-Kenny?!” She shouted in shock and horror as she turned around and saw her dead best friend. His grey beard and famous hat were soaked in blood and his eyepatch was gone, displaying his destroyed socket. Parts of him were missing, either completely torn off or hanging by threads, and bite marks were visible all over him. Despite missing a leg, he walked closer to her as if he were perfectly fine.

“You left me to die, Clem. Just like you did with Sarita.”

“I didn't want to! Kenny, please, I needed to save AJ!”

The corpse of Kenny laughed, a sick, mirthless croak. “Save him, eh? What a great job you've done of that,” He spat, moments before a gunshot went off. Clementine swiveled around to see Violet's limp body falling to the ground, a hole in her head from where a still-smiling AJ had shot her.

“VIOLET!!!” Clem screamed. She tried to run to her, but felt the bony grasp of her oldest companion seize her arms and force her back.

“He's a killer and it's your fuckin’ fault! Everything he does is your fault. Everyone he kills is. On. YOU.”

Tears formed in her eyes as she continued struggling against his grasp. “I'm sorry! I just wanted him to be able to survive without me, Kenny! I promised you I'd keep him safe!”

“You ruined our boy, Clementine. I'll never forgive you for that.”

He let go of her, but she couldn't bring herself to move. The young woman fell to her knees in a fit of sobs, vision awash and lungs aching. She shuddered violently with each gasp for air. She heard more shots fire, drawing her attention. Louis, Ruby, Willy and Tenn had joined the pile, further freezing her in hopeless terror. Something grabbed her from behind, yanking on her hair and forcing a shout of pain from her. Even with her blurred eyesight, she could make out Jane with a scowl on her face. “You're letting them all die, Clementine. You didn't save Luke. You didn't save Sarah. You didn't save me. Everyone you've ever called a friend has ended up dead sooner or later.”

She tried to close her eyes, but the phantom of Jane ripped her hair up again, forcing her eyes open. Luke's slightly blue body stood to the left, face still frozen in terror. A mess of vaguely human shaped gore laid in a heap to the right, a small, broken pair of red glasses laying still nearby. “I-I-I tried to save you! All of you!” She pleaded with the apparitions to no avail.

Another set of shots rang out, Jane releasing her former protege to watch the next body fall. AJ was gone, replaced by her younger self wearing the same innocent but almost insane smile. Lee, Omid, and Christa joined the rest of her dead friends, with her former tormentors somehow appearing in the heap of corpses. She heard the _click_ of a revolver's hammer being drawn back behind her. The haunted survivor turned around over the course of what felt like hours, but the sight that awaited her was all too sobering. Carver stood next to AJ with a hand on his shoulder. William's face was annihilated by Kenny's vengeance, the vacant eye sockets seeming to stare into her soul while his crooked teeth formed a cruel smile. “Killing the weak is part of survival, Clementine. I thought you understood that, but now you're holding him back. Fix her mistake, Junior.”

She watched as her cherished child raised his pistol with the same grin he'd wear whenever she'd played with him over the years. “AJ?” She asked shakily, looking into his eyes.

“Bang,” He whispered less than a second before he pulled the trigger.

“AJ!” Clem shouted as she leaped out of bed. It was dark, only faint guide lights serving to illuminate the brig. She ran her hands over her face, only slightly relieved not to find a bullet hole in her skull. She could feel herself hyperventilating despite her efforts to steady her breathing, adrenaline coursing through her veins and racking her mind. _“Focus, damn it,”_ She cursed at herself as she tried slowing herself. The brunette blocked out everything but the sound of her breathing, doing everything she could to alleviate its excessive pace. A minute later, she slumped against the metal wall as the last of the panic left her system. That was also around the time she realized someone was calling her name.

“-entine?! Clem?!” Aasim’s voice carried from the next cell over. She took one final steadying breath before responding.

“I’m fine,” She called back a little too quickly, her voice rough and clearly shaken. “I- just a bad dream. I’m fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing James is a bit of a pain, to be honest. I can't see him reacting to Violet and Louis much differently than he does Clementine, so his scenes practically feel like copy/pasting. 
> 
> I decided switching between Louis and Violet's perspectives every chapter or two would add an interesting layer to the story. If I'm wrong, let me know.


	3. Losing Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day has come for the rescue, but first it's time for a respite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this one taking so much longer. Things came up, plus just writing what is here took forever, but to compensate I'm releasing another chapter in one week!

_“Okay people, this is it. Remember the plan. We stay quiet, we stay hidden, and we stay together._

_We find what we need and we get the hell out before anyone even knows we’re there. Got it?”_

 

It was late in the afternoon by the time Louis, AJ, and Violet got back to the school. Orange sunlight shone brightly through the dirtied windows of Ericson’s as they made their way through the empty halls. It was a relief to the pianist to be back behind the graffiti covered walls of his home. With raiders on the prowl and James’ fucked up collection shambling about somewhere out there, being inside definitely felt better than out in the open. His issues with the whisperer’s traditions aside, Louis was at least glad to have secured some aid in this insane rescue mission of theirs. Someone willing to help instead of rob, kidnap, or kill them all was a nice change of pace.

As the trio turned the corner, they bumped into Ruby carrying a stack of pillows. Louis raised an eyebrow as he greeted her, putting on his best southern accent. “Howdy there, Rubes! You fixin’ fer a slumber party?”

Ruby smiled a little. “Not too far off, actually. Ah was thinkin’ about throwin’ one last hootenanny before the big fight. After you catch us up on the plan an’ all.”

AJ tilted his head a little. “Swear?”

“Uh, what?”

“It sounds like a swear…”

A slight blush came to Ruby’s cheeks. Laughing at the little guy’s confusion, he clarified. “Nah, it’s just southerner for party. Trust me, I’m fluent in it. Sounds like a great idea to me! Wanna help set it up, AJ?”

The excitement on AJ's face was some of the most honest-to-god joy he'd seen on anyone's face in nearly a decade. Hell, it might just be the happiest he'd ever seen the kid period. “What can I do?”

“Well, we need to pretty up the old music room and I was thinkin’ about makin’ everyone some tea if you’ve still got that heater thing. Could you make us somethin’ colorful to hang up?”

Scratch that, this was the happiest he’d ever seen the kid. “Okay! I’ll be an artist!”

It absolutely killed him to do it, but responsibility called to him. “After we go over the plan, though. Gotta make sure everyone hears it out.”

To his relief, AJ didn’t deflate much at all, giving a nod. “I’ll get everyone together. Maybe Tenn can draw the plan too!” The boy ran off before any of the three could even consider responding. Shaking his head a little, Lou turned to his fellow students.

“I guess we’ll meet up in the office, then. Probably should have let him know where to send everyone before he ran off…”

“Reminds me of a fella Ah knew a few years back. Ran off the second he heard there was a piano without botherin’ to hear where the music room was,” Ruby reminisced with a smile.

“Great minds think alike, Ruby. The kid and I are proof!” He replied with a shrug as he began walking towards Marlon’s old loft. He wasn’t really sure whose it was now. Violet’s? Clem’s? Whoever the hell was the leader, so not him. About fifteen minutes later, the other kids made their way inside one or two at a time, AJ and Tenn arriving last with a stack of paper in the latter’s hands.

“I drew some of the things AJ mentioned you needed. Here,” He said, handing them to Louis. The pianist took them gratefully and laid them on the desk before scooting around to the back of it.

“All right, everyone here?” Louis called out. Various familiar voices murmured some variations of yes before he continued. “Cool. Alright guys, so here's the deal: Those raiding assholes are sitting pretty on a boat over in the river. They have a bunch of supplies tied to the dock over here on the right, which one of will steal and bring back to the school. While that's going on, Ruby, you're gonna spook their horses and burn the hay. Everyone clear so far?”

Ruby nodded and Willy spoke up. “Me and Tenn'l send the supplies down river.”

The pianist wrote the names next to the roles before continuing. “Okay. So, there's a bit of a speed bump I didn't mention: the path to the boat is wide open, so to get aboard, we're sending in an army of walkers. So, uh, don't die.”

The expression on Violet's face let him know he fucked up even before the startled objections came spilling forward from the small crowd.

“What?!”

“Is that a joke, Lou?”

“I don't know, that sounds like a bad idea…”

Before he could clarify, Violet stepped forward. “Guys! That boat is swarming with raiders. If we ever want to see Clem, Aasim and Omar again, we need them to be distracted so they don't kill us before we even step foot inside. The walkers are our best chance of getting through,” Their leader in all but name explained. “You know they'd do the same for us. Don't back out now!”

After a moment, Tenn stepped forward. “Violet's right. We can do this.”

The others hesitantly agreed, still not completely sold on the idea but willing to play along. Louis cleared his throat to get everyone's attention once more. “Great! By the way, somewhere among the smelly patrol is gonna be a guy wearing a walker mask. His name is James, do him a favor and don't kill him. He's the guy who got us this distraction in the first place. He said he'd be meeting us around here,” He pointed to the tree closest to half-circle beside a bunch of squiggly lines, presumably meant to signify the shore. “When the walkers show up, Ruby, Willy, and Tenn will handle the backup distractions while AJ, Violet and I sneak across the river onto the dock. Hopefully they’ll be too distracted by our undead guests to notice us. We get onboard, grab the guys, and haul ass back here before any of them notice. Any questions?”

Willy spoke up again. “They’ll just come back later. We should do something to stop them for good. I’ve been thinking: what would Mitch do if he were still around? He’d blow the fuckers out of the water! We should make a bomb. I watched him make tons, I can do it too.”

Louis was mixed. On the one hand, he was absolutely down with sinking those bastards to the bottom of the river. But on the other… this was Willy. Is trusting him with a bomb _really_ a good idea? “Um… are you SURE you can make it blow up at the right time? It’d be pretty bad if it goes off before we even get to the boat.”

He looked slightly annoyed, but he seemed to at least understand the concern. “I’ve got this, Louis. Trust me.”

The pianist looked to Violet, their leader’s face nearly unreadable as always. _“It’s a good thing we can’t play poker, Violet would mop the floor with us,”_ He mused. Finally, she spoke up.

“We should go with Willy’s plan. We get on board, plant the bomb, get them, and get out while we can,” She said decisively, her fellow students nodding and speaking out in agreement. With a slight shrug, Louis conceded.

“No problem with it here. Alright, everyone knows their role, right? In that case, let’s meet up in the music room in thirty to set up for the party. AJ, do you know where Clem’s coffee maker is?” The boy nodded. “We’ll pick that up, you can make the decorations, and then we’ll be set. See you guys later,” He declared, AJ leading the way to his and Clem’s room. It wasn't an especially long walk- likely by design, knowing Marlon- but it still took a few minutes at a leisurely pace. About five minutes later, the pair of them had reached Sophie and Minnie's old room.

It was a little odd seeing Clementine's touches all over the room without the girl herself present, various knick knacks and keepsakes that showed off her personality were littered around the room. AJ had clearly thought so too; he hadn't used the room since she was taken, only hanging around the common rooms or Tenn's. Even so, the boy only briefly hesitated before going to his desk and sketching away. He was glad to see Clementine’s charge acting his age instead of like a traumatized adult, the earnest excitement with which he etched at the paper slightly contagious. Louis turned to the dresser and was slightly surprised to just immediately find it resting on the top of it. Sticking it in his coat pocket, he gently sat on one of the bunks. A couple minutes later, an enthusiastic AJ called to him.

“Louis, I’m done! Come look!”

“Sure thing, AJ.” He replied, standing up and walking to the giddy young boy. He grinned widely at the stickfigure scribblings of Omar, Aasim and Clem heroically leaping from the raider’s exploding boat. “Woah! Tenn better watch out or you’ll end up as the resident artist!”

AJ smiled, but gave him a skeptical look. “I dunno. He’s _really_ good.” All of the sudden, AJ gained a thousand yard stare, his smile slowly disappearing.

“Um… AJ? Hello?”

The boy shook his head. “I was just thinking about stuff while I was drawing…” He said, hopping out of the chair and walking to the center of the room. “I keep thinking about Clem getting bit. Turning into a monster. The older I get, the more I see it,” AJ confessed. Louis’ own face fell at that. “She always told me that if she became a monster, I had to shoot her… but I don’t want to. It’d be like Marlon… I don’t want to be a murderer.”

 _“Fucking smooth, Louis. As always, you know just what to say to cause a wedge, don’t you?”_ He chastised himself mentally. Scratching the back of his head nervously, he dropped to a knee. “That’s different, little man. What she means is that she doesn’t want to be a walker because then she might hurt people. If she wants it to happen, then it’s not murder,” He slowly explained, trying to be careful with his wording lest the still fresh wound of Marlon’s death get to him. “You get what I’m saying?”

AJ didn’t respond. The boy hesitantly turned to him. “If she got bit, I’d want her to bite me too.”

FUCK. Louis was not prepared for _that_. He blinked, desperately wanting to believe he didn’t hear that right. “What?”

“I don’t want to be alone. I can’t live with Clem not with me, not for good. James said that we could be around when we’re monsters, like on the inside. If Clem bit me, then we’d still be together. Just… a different together.”

The pianist mentally swore out that unhinged walker-loving prick. First he forces them to go through a walker party, and now he’s making the kid think about killing himself if Clem died? It was hard to make a bad first impression on Louis, but goddamn if this guy wasn’t trying his hardest to. Trying to hide his anger for the former whisperer, Louis responded to his best friend’s son. “James doesn’t really know that though. It’s like Violet said; walkers are dangerous, and even if you were still there it’d be like hell. You know Clem wouldn’t want you to do that,” He urged. AJ had an unconvinced look on his face, making Louis put a hand on each his shoulders. “Hey. Don’t think like that, buddy. We’ll always be here for you.”

Alvin Junior stepped out of his hold, walking towards the door. “I… think I’m just gonna hang out with Tenn for a bit before the party.”

He dashed off without another word, shoving the door open and bolting past a confused Violet. Louis considered chasing after him, but shook his head. Maybe the kid needed some space right now. The slouching blonde stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “What’s with AJ?”

“Oh, you know, boy stuff. Drawing, explosions, casual discussion of suicidal thoughts…” Violet’s eyes widened in concern. Before she could express that worry, he clarified. “He told me he’d want Clementine to bite him if she ever… you know.”

Violet released a breath, leaning against the wall. “Jesus. We _need_ to get her back. He’ll go crazy without her,” She lamented, clearly trying to hide that AJ wasn’t the only one sorely missing their golden-eyed friend.

In a rare moment of undiagnosed genuineness, Louis softly assured her. “We'll get them back, Vi. All of them.”

Violet shifted a little. “Can we talk about what happened today? With Minnie?”

As the group’s unofficial therapist, he obliged. “Yeah, of course.”

Violet sighed, tilting her head back. “The person we ran into in the woods… that wasn’t Minnie. You felt that too, right? The way she talked about Sophie and Lily… Marlon was half right. Minerva’s dead, but she doesn’t know it.”

Louis shook his head. “We can’t give up on her, Vi. They might be in her head right now, but she’s our friend. We can save her.”

Violet looked ambivalent as she glanced back at Louis. “Maybe, but I can’t let her take anyone else I care about. If I have to, I’ll stop her myself…” She spoke with an odd sort of regretful determination as she glumly looked at AJ’s picture of Clem. The upbeat survivor followed her gaze.

“Hey, Clem’s tougher than nails and smarter than everyone on that boat put together. They’re probably more scared right now than she is.”

Clementine’s shy girlfriend closed her eyes, not responding to his attempt to reassure her. “It’s kinda funny… when she first got here, I figured I’d hate her. That confidence in her eyes, the way she walked, how she had a comeback for everything… but she was so kind at the same time. Genuine. She was like you and Minnie mixed together. If it weren't for her, I'd never have had the chance to patch things up with Brody. She… she doesn't make me feel like myself. She makes me feel like a _better_ me. The longer I think about it, the more I realize I can't imagine a life without her in it anymore. Clem is… damn it…” She grumbled as hints of her heartbreak entered her voice. Taking a deep breath, she continued. “She's everything. I know she's strong, but look at what they did to Minnie. What if the Clementine we find isn't the same one from two days ago?”

Louis hesitated. In truth, it hadn't really occurred to him. After all, Clementine was the sort took crippling trauma in stride. What could some random asshole do to her that could shake that? But then again, so was Minerva. The pianist quietly replied, “Then we'll save her, too. _All_ of our friends are getting off of that boat. I promise.”

She considered this for a moment, visibly detensing as she nodded slightly. “Yeah. I… thanks, Lou.”

He smiled a little. “That'll be two-hundred bucks plus taxes,” He said with a grin. She scoffed and flipped him off despite the small tug at her own lips. Just like that, status quo was mostly restored between the pair. With a shrug, he turn to the door. “We should probably go find AJ and Tenn before the party starts up.”

Violet stood up. “Tenn's in the office, I think. Lead the way.”

***

Ten minutes of aimless searching later, Louis and Violet finally found the pair of them helping to set up in the music room. Ruby had clearly been doing a lot of work in their absence; the gramophone had been broken out of storage and a large banner rested waiting to be painted. AJ and Tenn were helping move about candles and some other smaller supplies as they walked into the room. “Man, it almost looks like the world didn’t end. Great work, Ruby!” The class clown praised, catching the girl in question’s attention before he held out the small drink warmer..

The southern redhead accepted it gratefully. “Not quite done, mind you. We still need to figure out lightin’, music, and somethin’ to write on that banner.”

AJ cocked his head curiously. “Music? You’re gonna play the piano all night?”

“God no. I want to actually attend this thing.”

“Then how?”

Oh. Right. The kid was born _after_ the world went to shit. He’d probably never heard music that wasn’t performed live. He felt himself filling up with excitement as Lou prepared to blow his mind. “Come here, buddy. I’ll show you!”

To the right, he heard Ruby and Violet discussing the candles. “Ah’ve been going back and forth between the colors. Leanin’ towards green, but purple could be nice too.”

That caught Alvin Jr.’s attention. “Purple is Clem's favorite color.”

 _“In more ways than one,”_ Louis nearly said aloud. It was a damn tempting joke, but the timing might be poor while Clementine was still gone. No, the relationship teasing would have to wait until Violet's girlfriend was here to be equally embarrassed by his comments. Holding back his oh-so witty commentary, he looked over the music teacher's old record player. It had been a while since they last used it, so he was glad to find it was still in remarkable condition all things considered. Ruby had stacked the surviving records nearby, only three to his disappointment. Still, something was better than nothing. AJ was looking curiously at the machine as he started explaining it to him. “When you turn that crank there, it plays music. Any kind you want. Pretty cool, right?”

Fascination and wonder filled the young boy’s eyes. “How?”

“Well that…” Louis began before promptly realizing he had no fucking clue how it actually worked. Still, it wouldn’t do to take the wind out of AJ’s sails. “I don’t really know, but what I _do_ know is that showing’s better than telling. Give it a try,” He encouraged, pointing out the records to him. The six year old studied each album with an undying look of enchantment. He seemed to settle on one with a picture of a well-dressed man going to town on a piano with saxaphones physically blowing out notes behind him.

“What’s ‘jazz’ sound like?”

By god, is this what it felt like to be a music teacher? Getting to be the one with the pleasure of introducing someone to the suaveness of jazz for the first time ever? He wondered if Mr. Miller had felt that sort of excited pride. Well, before the asshole left them all for dead. Smiling, he took the record out and set it up on the gramophone. Pointing to the handle, he said, “Give it a spin and find out.”

AJ slowly reached out and cranked the lever. His eyes and smile widened in joy and wonder as the sound of a saxophone rose out from the brass horn. The young boy stood still at first, in awe of the contraption, before he started dancing. Holy shit, AJ’s dancing. Structureless, wild, and pure fun. Louis guffawed at this kid’s unadulterated enthusiasm. Even Violet had a smile on her face! Not just one of those half-smirks she’d get if he were lucky, but an honest to god smile. Clementine’s son didn’t stop even as he helped put the candles into place, keeping up a constant rhythm. Tenn was writing something on the banner with Violet while he, AJ, Ruby and Willy set up the lighting around the room. By the time it was properly bathed in a purple hue, the banner was hanging from the ceiling with **“We’re getting them back!”** proudly scrawled onto it. The lighting combined with the music made the place feel different than it had for the almost ten years he had spent messing around in it.

Towards the center of the room, Tenn and Willy were sat down next to a what looked like a milk carton duct taped to some fertilizer. He approached and sat next to the pair, glad to see Ruby had settled their little feud in the time he and Violet were out. “Hey guys. So… I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this is the bomb?”

Willy nodded, both of the younger boys smiling at their creation. “Yep, and good to go, too!” He announced, before suddenly becoming a little apprehensive. “Actually, uh… I was thinking we should name this thing. I mean, I think it deserves a name.”

Louis lit up. “Hell yeah we should!”

Surprise and delight showed all over the bombmaker’s face. “I thought you’d make fun of me, but...let’s name this fucker!”

The pianist turned to his redheaded friend. “What do you say to Ruby’s Revenge sending Lily and her crew to the bottom of the river?”

She smirked from the ladder she was climbing on. “Goddamn right,” Ruby proudly agreed. A couple moments later, she let out a pleased hum. I found them!” The southern redhead announced, pulling a box out from the shelf. Louis only had to glance at the box to know what it was, a mixture of curiosity and slight dread filling him. What the hell was she getting their rapsheets out for? AJ cocked his head to the side.

“What are those?”

“These here are our official Ericson’s psych evaluations and probationary reports.” She told him, still grinning. He looked to Louis for clarification.

“It’s about the things we did to get here.” He informed as he sat down in front of the box. He got the feeling he knew what his country friend was planning now.

“... And all the bad shit we did that kept them from sending us back home.” Violet continued.

“Right. Ah figured if we’re all goin’ on this crazy mission together, it might be fun to look back on what got us here in the first place. ‘Sides, you might as well know who we really are, AJ. So… Ah’ll read some of what the adults thought about us, and you have to guess who fits the bill. Ready?”

Intrigue glinted in the young boy’s eyes. “Yeah, I’m ready”

“While otherwise a remarkable student, ‘blank’ continues to be plagued by fits of anger, uncontrollable cursing, and repeated physical altercations with the senior faculty,” She finished, looking up at the young boy. “Any guesses?”

His small face furrowed in deep thought. A hint of regret poked through his expression as he replied, “Is that Marlon’s?”

Louis deflated a little. He could hardly blame the kid, really. That does sound incredibly similar to his old friend, after all. Thankfully, Willy couldn’t keep his giggling back any longer, catching everyone’s attention. “That’s Ruby’s file!”

AJ’s eyes widened, looking in shock at the soft-spoken medic. “Really?”

“Guilty as charged!”

A chuckle escaped Violet as she looked at their youngest member’s confusion. “Yeah, you shoulda seen Ruby back in the early days.”

Louis smirked at the memories. Ah, the days when a pissed off Ruby was the scariest thing Ericson’s had to deal with. “Our sweet Ruby was kind of a nightmare when she first showed up. Remember when you tried to crush me with the piano for joking about inbreeding?”

Ruby burst out in laughter, the memory clearly as vivid for her. AJ looked at him curiously. “What does that mean?”

“Uh, nothing little man. I-” Before he could even finish the sentence, Tenn leaned over and whispered something into AJ’s ear, a look of faint disgust dawning on his little friend. Few things could ever get Louis to voluntarily shut up, but realizing he had just exposed Clem’s kid to the concept of incest was one of them. Violet’s death-glare carried a crystal clear message: _“Clementine is going to fucking murder you and I’m going to let it happen”_. Frankly, he couldn’t even disagree with that. Well… shit.

Ever the hero, Ruby came to his rescue. “Uh… maybe we should change us the music?”

Grabbing the opportunity like the lifeline it was, Louis turned to AJ. “Wanna hear what country sounds like?”

Willy and Ruby grinned at that. “Hell yeah. Get a load of this!” Willy excitedly announced, running over to the phonogram and swapping in the country vinyl. The energetic twang of an acoustic guitar reverberated throughout the room, AJ swaying slightly to it. Despite that crisis being averted, a grim look came over Ruby as she flipped through the various records in the box.

“I didn’t realize how many of us we’d lost…”

“Remember that Justin guy?”

“And Therissa, and Jasper. That one girl with the braces…”

“Erin,” Louis recalled without even thinking. Every name and face that had ever been at this school bounced around in the back of his mind, even when it had been years since their demise. He could see it in Violet’s eyes, too. She wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, but he doubted there was a single person she’d forgotten over the years. Ruby kept flicking through the files in vain, but after a few more seconds, AJ spoke up.

“I don’t have a file or anything, but I could tell you about when I was little. It’s kinda sad, but… you guys told me about that stuff, so I think I should, too.”

Some curiosity bubbled inside Louis. Even after the past couple weeks, Clem had stayed pretty cagey about her and AJ’s past outside of some vague details. He’d be lying if he said the mystery wasn’t fun to think about. “If you’re up for it, go right ahead, little man.”

AJ looked around, waiting for the others to give the go ahead. Once they nodded, he began. “Before I was born, Clem was in a group with my mom, Rebecca. She'd gotten hurt real bad, but they had to keep walking ‘cause of the monsters. Then this guy and his group tried to rob them. He was angry, said that she stole some medicine, but she didn't,” He said in a slightly detached tone. Louis and Violet shared a look. Clementine robbing a guy? A child-aged Clementine at that? That didn't match up with the kind-hearted girl he'd come to know over the weeks. AJ continued steadily. “While everyone was fighting, Clem noticed my mom died and became a monster, so she shot her to save me. The guys sticking them up got scared and started shooting… Clem doesn't like telling me what happens next. When the shooting stopped, the guy that said she stole from him was still alive. Her group wanted to kill him, but she convinced them to let him stay. A bunch of her friends ended up dying because of him, and the ones that didn't tried to take all our food and leave. Clem was going to let them take half and go, but they shot her.”

“Holy shit,” Vi mumbled in absolute shock. Louis was inclined to agree. If his math was right, Clem would have been eleven back then. They shot a kid over some cans of food.

AJ nodded with a frown. “Two people stayed and helped us, Kenny and Jane. She never told me what happened, but it ended up just me, Clem, and Kenny for a few years when I was really little. She wouldn't tell me how he died, either. Other than a bit at the ranch, it's always just been us.”

A dead silence fell over the group. Louis especially was stunned. He knew the outside world was bad, but Christ, he had massively underestimated its cruelty. Unbidden, a memory flashed through his mind.

_“You've done this before, so in a way, it's kinda like coming home,” Louis tried to justify to the now-exiled members of the group. Clementine scowled at him bitterly._

_“Yeah, and we almost died the last time we tried it. What the hell do you know about living on the road, Louis?”_

He had been annoyed by her defensiveness at the time, but looking back… yeah. She was doing more dangerous shit as a little kid than he was as (technically) an adult and _he_ was trying to lecture her about the outside? No wonder Clem was so pissed at him. He would be too. At the same time… that was a good thing, in a really fucked up way. If anyone could take being kidnapped by the Delta, it would be her. He sure as hell wouldn't.

Nobody had spoken a word in nearly a full minute, none of them quite sure how to respond to the small glimpse of Clementine's troubled life. What could they say really? That had to be at least the second most hardcore backstory out of them all. Hell, that basically made her the definition of a troubled youth. Almost as if on cue, Tenn’s eyes lit up. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Do you guys remember when Minnie would sing ‘Don’t Be Afraid’ when all of us used to get scared?”

A bittersweet fondness came to Louis, the once-pleasant memory tainted by the knowledge of what she’d become. “Of course. I helped compose it with her,” He reminisced with a small smile, getting to his feet and stepping towards the piano. He could hazard a guess as to his young friend’s idea. He hesitated slightly once he actually reached the instrument. He knew the song by heart, but it felt… wrong, almost. Like he shouldn’t be doing it, at least not without her here. The bench creaked slightly beside him, the class clown of Ericson’s glancing to find a somewhat timid Violet waiting for him. She gave a small nod towards the piano, almost as if she could read his thoughts and officially gave him permission to do it. [ Taking a deep breath, the pair of unexpected leaders gave it their all. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wANQDCsVsgc)

***

For everything made worse off by the end of the world, quiet nights weren't among them. Gentle starlight bathed the school in lovely blue. Violet couldn't properly enjoy it, however. Her thoughts were weighed down by the knowledge that tonight was the night they assaulted the Delta. At least, a pretty significant part of its operations. It felt like she should be scared, but she wasn't. Quite the opposite, in fact. Despite knowing the likelihood of dying, this felt right. They would do something for Clementine, Aasim, and Omar they never could for Minerva and Sophia: try to get them back.

Violet glanced at the stars, a bittersweet sensation coming over her. She fidgeted the button she'd made as a reunion gift between her fingers as the memory played before her as if it were happening right then and there. The slight chill of the night air passing them by negated by the warmth of Clementine's smile and touch, the shock of her hesitant but heartfelt confession, the way the starlight reflected off her golden eyes…

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Now wasn't the time for reverie or guilt. That would have to wait until her ever-confident Clementine was by her side once again. Still, it would be a little bit before her rotation was over and they officially left for the boat. Like so many nights, her only companions at the moment were chirping crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl in the distance. Just the way she had liked it, in many regards. Not even a lone walker could be bothered to a shamble by. Despite her distracting thoughts, Violet kept a hawkish gaze over the forest just in case those kidnapping psychos had similar sneak attack plans.

Softly falling footsteps caught her ear from behind. She spotted someone in her peripheral vision, turning to find Tenn quietly approaching the lookout post. She raised an eyebrow. But didn't say anything as the second youngest member of the group came up beside her. He couldn't quite meet her gaze, looking down at the wooden base of the tower instead. In truth, Violet wasn't sure if he'd say anything at all. There had been more than one occasion where the two simply sat in silence together, wordlessly mourning the same people. Violet was hardly going to force him into a discussion if he didn't want one. At last, though, her young friend spoke up. “Hey, Violet?”

“Yeah, Tenn?”

He paused, clearly debating whether or not he should go through with it. He seemed to force himself to speak lest he back out. “When they came for us that night, Lily said she had talked to Minerva… do you think that's true? That Minnie and Sophie are really with them now?”

Violet didn't answer at first, staring out into the woods as she formulated her response. There was certainly no easy way to break the news to him. Lying to him crossed her mind. Maybe it would be kinder to say Lily lied and they were both dead? It was true, in a way. But then… if she said that, and he saw Minerva during the raid, he'd almost certainly try to get to her and probably get himself killed in the process. There was no guarantee where her almost lifelong friend would be when they attacked, after all.

She turned to him and knelt down to his level like she'd seen Clem and Louis do so many times. With only a moment of hesitation, she finally answered. “Tenn, I… I-I'm sorry. Sophie's… gone. Minnie told us herself. She's too scared to fight back anymore. I'm sorry,” She repeated regretfully. His scarred face had fallen only slightly, the boy closing his eyes.

“I think I knew it, in a way. If you see her tonight, could you tell her I forgive her?”

Violet couldn't tell if his seemingly infinite forgiveness inspiring or sad. He had forgiven _Marlon_ of all people. It was surprising such innocence still existed in the world after all this time. As much as she wanted to say yes, she couldn't let go of the betrayal she'd felt hearing Minerva's bitter words.

_“Clementine lied to you, the Delta can't be beaten.”_

They still hung around in her mind like a poison. How could the girl she loved so much be so thoroughly broken that she would side against the people that killed her sister over her own friends? Violet wasn't sure she could ever come to terms with that. But as she looked into Tenn's tired but hopeful eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say that she was too far gone. “I will. I promise.”

The quiet child nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Violet. I-”

“Violet? Vi? It's time,” Louis’ voice called from somewhere near the admin building. Tenn lingered for only a moment before heading off to join the raiding party.

“I'll go find Willy and AJ. Is that okay?”

She nodded once. “Yeah, I'll… I'll just be a minute,” The leader of the school informed. Her young friend wordlessly went down the ladder as she turned her attention back to the stars above. A ghost of a smile pulled at her lips as she saw the same constellation of a knife Clem had proudly declared her own just a two nights prior. What was it the girl always said to AJ? It seemed pretty fitting here. “See you on the other side.”

***

A couple hours later, the six remaining members of Ericson's were finally close to the boat. The cover of the trees had encompassed the forest in almost complete darkness. It was a mixed blessing, aiding in their sneaking efforts considerably, but also making it incredibly difficult to navigate the forest with any sort of accuracy. Thank god they found a spare compass in Aasim's room, otherwise they might have gone in circles for the entire night. Regardless, the boat stood before them all, gently rocking in the current. Violet could feel her heartbeat pick up with every step. This was really happening. They were going to get their friends back, or die trying. Determination steeled itself inside her. No going back now. Turning to the rest of the group, she went over the plan once more. “Alright. Ruby, you've got your lighter?” She checked, the redhead nodding and pulling out her arson tool. “Willy, Tenn, when you get clear of the boat, stash the supplies somewhere and get back to the school. Me, Louis, and AJ are going on the boat once James shows up.”

Ruby glanced to the side and jumped, eyes widening. “Good lord!” The southerner gasped out. Sure enough, the pacifist whisperer had creeped up on them during Violet’s little speech. James fidgeted awkwardly.

“Uh… hello…”

Nobody said anything, too taken aback by his unsettlingly accurate mask to speak. Louis stepped forward. “Guys, mister tall and quiet here is James, that walker-guy that saved Clem a couple weeks back. James, everyone. Everyone, James.”

“He’s my friend.” AJ proudly announced with a smile. Ruby and Tenn stayed visibly uncomfortable, but Willy’s apprehension slowly morphed into fascination.

“So cool! How’d you get the skin like that? Can I try it on? Please?” The young boy gave the questions in rapidfire succession, not seeming to notice how James shrunk a little more with each one. Violet stepped forward.

“Willy, back up a little.” She ordered. To his credit, Mitch’s apprentice looked embarrassed as he realized just how bashful James was. She was about to ask him about the walkers when Tenn piped up from behind.

“Is this the guy that Clem said she’d… flip?”

Violet facepalmed. With how fucked up the world had become, it was all too easy to forget that they were still kids, complete with childish senses of humor. It certainly didn’t help with Louis failing spectacularly to hide a snicker. He raised his hands up innocently at her glare. _“For fucks sake…”_

James’ eyebrow visibly lifted under his mask, but he seemed to ignore the comment. “The walkers will be here in a little while. You can get in during the confusion.” He slowly explained. Violet acknowledged him with a nod.

“Thank you, James. Uh, hey… when this is over, you can come back to the school. If you want, I mean. Having another person around might not be a bad thing.” She quietly suggested, all of her fellow students giving various shows of approval aside from an abnormally quiet Louis. The man seemed a little surprised by the offer.

“I… will think about it. Thank you. I hope you get your friends back,” He timidly responded before turning and going further into the trees, disappearing from sight soon after.

The leader of the troubled youths glanced back to them. “It’s time, guys. Get into position,” She ordered. Ruby, Tenn, and Willy scurried off to their duties, leaving her, AJ, and Louis alone. The pianist had apparently walked off to the side, looking out at the boat. She shook her head as she approached him, sighing a little. “Lou, that means us too.”

He didn’t respond immediately, still looking out at the place they’d be raiding in just a few minutes. “This is really happening, huh. It’s really time to march out there and fight a bunch of sadistic murderous raiders, all the while people are depending on me. You’re depending on me. _Clem_ is depending on me…” He shifted uneasily, turning towards her. “What if I fuck up and get one of us killed? I do it all the time. What if it’s you, or her, or anyone more useful than me?”

“Lou-”

“No, I’m serious. Vi, you’re the only one left that can keep us together. If something happened to you, the school would fall apart in a week tops. Something happens to me, and the worst that happens is there’s less bad jokes and piano music floating around. That’s it.”

Her gaze softened. She was one of the few who knew this side of him even before the dead started biting people, and at this point, she might just be the last to know it. “You know that’s bullshit, Louis. If it weren’t for you, we probably would’ve killed each other years ago. Hell, they don’t even really see me as the leader. I need you with me on this, Lou. That’s the only way we’re getting them back.”

Her extraverted friend seemed to consider this, taking a breath. “Yeah. Okay… I can do this. Promise.” He said, a small smile coming to him. Suddenly, a young voice called out from behind them.

“It’s ready.”

The two of them shared a confused look. She hadn’t told him to do anything, so what the hell was that supposed to mean? The foul stench of rotten flesh became more and more apparent with each step she took towards AJ, Louis gagging at it. The young boy had somehow gotten ahold of a walker corpse and cut the thing down the center, letting its intestines spill out for all to see. “Ugh! AJ, what’s up with the body? I’m not as noseblind as you might think…”

The boy looked up at him as if he’d just asked the stupidest question in the world. “To blend in with the monsters. That’s the plan, right? We need to smell like them so they don’t bite us.”

Violet pondered this for a moment. That… was actually a better plan. A lot better, in fact. She kneeled down next to the body and casually grabbed what she thought was the poor bastard’s small intestine, rubbing it on her clothing and skin thoroughly. Louis looked like he was about to puke, especially when she tossed another bit of intestine at him. He played a one-person game of hot potato with it before reluctantly wiping it on his signature jacket, an almost comical look of disgust on his face the entire time. After a few minutes of smearing the foul remains (and Louis _actually_ throwing up from the ordeal), AJ and Violet were completely covered. Their jovial friend fidgeted like he wanted to jump out of his own skin. “All right, I think I’m ready…” He said the same way a pouty child forced to dress fancily would. His face was still bare unlike the other two, the musician sagging under Violet’s unimpressed stare. He reluctantly reached back into the walker and smeared some on his face. “Oh, god… Violet, I really hope you know a decent dry cleaner, because you’re getting the bill for this.”

She simply shook her head before slowly approaching the small herd of walkers. “Shit, okay, on three. One, two, three!” She announced, sprinting into the walkers before promptly slowing down to a shamble with AJ and Louis close behind. A spotlight shined on her from the boat, the teen instinctively slipping behind a nearby walker before its head exploded into gore. She glanced back at her friends to make sure they were okay before continuing forward. The trio slowly made their way towards the dock amidst the hail of gunfire, leaping behind a stack of crates as soon as they were in range. The familiar sound of a fire bursting to life sounded off nearby, soon accompanied by the panicked whinnying of the enemy’s horses. Mere moments later, a woman, possibly Lily herself, angrily pointed out that their supplies were suddenly going adrift. A hint of satisfaction poked through the adrenaline-fueled focus of Violet’s mind as they stealthily moved along the dock, keeping to cover as much as possible. A rifle fired nearby as a raider marched dangerously close to their position. Without even thinking, Violet drew her knife and closed her eyes to focus on the sound of the approaching footsteps. Two seconds… one second… the blonde leapt from behind the crate and shoved her blade in the gut of their would-be attacker. She quickly pulled it out and thrust it back in again over and over until the shock in the dark skinned woman’s eyes glossed over, Violet grabbing her knife out of the body before dumping her corpse into the river. A small bit of guilt built inside her as she turned and noticed Louis’ shock, but she disregarded it. Regret could come later, in the moment, she’d do whatever was needed to save her friends. They took a left only to be stopped by a hail of gunfire as a walker climbed the dock in front of them, old, brown blood spurting out from its bullet wounds soon after. They practically hugged the tiny walls of supplies built up long the side of the pier.

“Getting shot isn’t part of the plan. Any ideas?”

“Shut up, Louis,” Violet hissed. She monitored the pattern of the searchlight up above, taking a minute to make sure it wasn’t just a fluke. “Follow my lead,” She whispered to them before dashing across the bits cover at each opportunity. They finally reached the gate, AJ quickly running up to it and turning to Louis.

“Ready, little man?”

He gave a determined nod as he climbed up into the pianist’s hands and crawled through the small gap. The pair waited nervously for it to open, scrambling inside once it finally did. The frantic footsteps of running soldiers echoed throughout the metal halls as Louis, Violet, and AJ quietly searched the boat. None of them being particularly familiar with boats, it took a few minutes to find themselves in the engine room, the boiler sitting in the center of the room. As they were moving  to open it up, yet another one of Lily’s troops stepped into view, firing off his rifle through the window. He glanced behind him and did a double take when he noticed the trio, trying to raise his half-loaded rifle in time to shoot. With even less hesitation than before, Violet charged him and plunged the blade into his throat and dragged it, his scream cut short and replaced with a terrified gurgling. She pulled it out of him with a grunt before returning to the boiler.

Louis cringed at the raider's bleeding form, but any denouncement he might have planned withered and died under Violet's hard look. The trio wordlessly moved towards the small fuel compartment on the machine, the heat of the engine a clear indication that this was the target. Louis pulled the bomb out of his coat pocket and handed it to her. She opened up the contraption and slowly lowered the bomb in, careful not to take chances with Willy's admittedly sketchy plan. “Teach ’em some frontier justice, Ruby’s Revenge,” He absentmindedly quipped to himself. Suddenly, he paused, eyeing the boiler suspiciously. “Wait… did Willy say how long we have to get off the boat?”

Violet was about to reply with some sarcastic reply when she realized she couldn’t recall any sort of time frame either. “... Shit, let’s make this quick,” Was her only substitute for an actual answer. She looked to a ladder in the opposite corner of the room and motioned for the others to go up. The blonde stopped as more soldiers ran up to the deck above. It was a little concerning that even with four of them dead they still had a formidable amount of soldiers here. She silently hurried up to the second deck only to freeze as she spotted a slightly distressed-looking Minerva up ahead. Her former girlfriend was fidgeting in place awkwardly, looking like she was expecting to meet someone. _“Of course SHE had to be the cell guard. No way to sneak past her…”_ She thought to herself as she looked over the layout of the room. The bars of the cells were visible through the doorway, but it seemed only the path Minerva was standing in led to her friends. She locked eyes with Louis, the boy seeming to realize her plan just before she stood up. “Minnie!”

The redhead swirled towards the source of the noise only to find a gun pointed at her head and Louis brandishing Chairles. She glared at the people that used to be her friends. “You need to get out right now. All of you.” She growled. Louis shook his head, taking a step towards her.

“You know we can’t do that, Minerva. We can still-” He stopped as the crossbow snapped to him. AJ’s aim grew steadier.

“I said get out! All you had to do was not fight, and now you’ve thrown out the last chance I had at convincing Lily to leave you alive! God help you if you got Tenn mixed up in this…”

“He said he forgives you.”

“W-what?” Minerva’s hard expression melted immediately, shock and shame replacing the angry determination that had been there mere seconds prior. Her crossbow aim became less focused as she looked away before ultimately lowering. “Damn it… I’ll help you. Just… be quick. Dorian will be here any second. Come on.” The raider conceded, leading the way to the cells. The first one Violet checked was empty, but a pair of startled voices from the next one over caught her attention.

“Violet?”

“Holy fuck, Louis!”

The pair rushed to the door, relief flooding over both of them. Before they could even ask their friends if they were okay, AJ piped up. “Where’s Clem?!”

“She’s in that one,” Pointing towards the door behind them. “Take care of Clem first. She’s… god, she’s in rough shape.”

Dread filled Violet’s entire soul as she turned towards the cell in question, Minerva wordlessly unlocking it. Something had changed about the girl’s body language, but Violet was too distressed to read into it. She briskly walked into the cell and saw Clementine laying in her bunk, that signature cap of hers draped over her face. “Clem! Cle-”

Violet was on the ground before she even realized what happened, vision blurring and head aching like no other. Distorted voices filled her ears as she began slipping into unconsciousness. “-ucking serious?!”

“Get… OW! … kill him… -st me.”

***

The first thing Violet heard as she came to was rhythmically snapping fingers. Every five seconds or so, the small cracking noise reverberated through the small room. Her first instinct was to tell Louis to stop whatever bullshit experiment he was trying out, but the grim realization of where she was right now set in first. She felt nothing but spite as Minerva's betrayal sunk in. _“What the fuck, Minnie?! You're more loyal to that crazy fuck than your goddamn family?!”_ The leader seethed with anger, fists clenched as she forced herself to her feet with a small grunt. The snapping suddenly stopped at the noise.

“Who's there?” A familiar voice questioned warily from behind. Violet nearly tripped on her own feet as she turned to face her kidnapped girlfriend, relief and joy partially replacing her bitterness. The girl in question was lying face up on a cot, a glance at her wrists revealing she'd been tied to it with belts. The already poor lighting combined with Clem's beloved cap bathed her face in darkness.

“Clem! It's me, it's Violet! I-w-we came to rescue you!” Violet stumbled over her words from both the excitement of seeing her friend again and the anxiety of being imprisoned on the enemy craft she had planted a bomb in. As she drew closer, she could see a look of shock on the bottom half of Clem's face, her eyes still obscured by shadows.

“Violet?! Oh my god, Violet!” She called out with the same reassured exhilaration. Violet quickly undid the makeshift restraints, tensing slightly when Clementine promptly shot up and embraced her with slightly shaking arms. After a short moment, Violet returned the hug. “I knew you'd come, but holy shit, you're _here_. I missed you so much,” The brunette whispered into her ear. The same rush of wonderful uneasiness from that night under the stars returned to the shy hero.

“Why would I go anywhere else when you're here?” She replied, lightly smiling at the amused scoff sounding from the girl who'd used that line on her just the other night. Out of the corner of her eye, Violet noticed something tightly wrapped around her friend's curly brunette hair, drawing her attention. She broke off the hug to get a better look at her face, confused at what looked like a blindfold over her eyes. She attempted to lift it off, but the prisoner's hands grabbed her wrists suddenly, panic filling the girl's face. “Clem? I'm not going to hurt you, I promise,” Violet soothed, quietly fearing the possibilities of what had happened. Tied to a bed and blindfolded on a ship full of child-snatching psychopaths-Christ, she hoped her suspicions weren't true. The harsh grip on her hands loosened a little but refused to completely let go.

“I can't see you…” Clementine quietly murmured. Violet slowly started raising the covering, her friend no longer resisting it.

“I know. I-” Her words died in her throat as the last of the blindfold came off. A bloodied empty socket and a dark red-tinted lazy eye stared back at her, a shameful expression overtaking Clementine's face.

“Violet, I can't see _anything_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't see that coming. Clem certainly didn't,


	4. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine takes a risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to be honest, I wanted to wait a week after the last chapter to release this but I was too excited to see people's reactions, so I decided to release it a little early. I hope it's still up to the usual quality!

_“You know what it feels like being beaten, almost to death? Peaceful. It feels peaceful. It’s like I was floating away, watching the whole thing happen to me._

_Then I woke up again, and nothing’s changed. I’m still taking a beating. Every. Day.”_

**18 Hours Prior**

_Maddening_ . There was no other way to describe it, at this point. A poorly lit room and nothing but her thoughts was a bad combination for anyone, let alone someone with as much emotional baggage weighing down on her as Clementine. Every time she dared to slumber, the heap of dead loved ones was there waiting for her, but the lack of sleep was leaving her exhausted and forcing her back to the dream over and over. It ate away at her spirit more than Lily's taunts ever could. She _had_ to get out, and as soon as possible at that. God knows how long it had been since she was taken. Her mental timeline had shattered after her nightmare ruined any attempt at sleep, adding even more stress to her already overstrained mind.

Clem paced back and forth in the small cell, trying her best to keep herself alert. She was running out of time in more ways than one, she was painfully aware of that, but there was exactly nothing she could do. She was weaponless, dead tired, and completely outnumbered. Just about anything she tried would result in even stricter incarceration at best. Anger flared up inside her the more Clem thought about it. If she waited any longer, they risked the boat taking off and then none of her plotting would be worth a damn anyway. Frustration built in her more and more with every scrapped plan, the young girl feeling angier than she had in years. Clementine slammed her foot against the door with a guttural growl. The weak metal shuddered as she struck it again and again, shattering the last rusty rivet keeping the sheet metal in place. She paused briefly, realizing the only thing blocking her escape was now gone. The anger immediately shifted into pure focus as she quickly formulated a new plan. Footsteps were rapidly approaching but they were still just far enough away for her goal. Acting quickly, Clementine ripped the latch out of place and hid it behind her hand before returning to her feet, acting like nothing had changed. Not surprisingly, Minerva's annoyed face soon appeared in the window with a warning glare and a steady crossbow. “Don't you know when to quit?! Step. Back. Now!”

Clem stepped back with a glare of her own. “No, I don't. I won't give up like you did”

The redhead's look hardened. “Then you'll die. That's what you don't understand. Everything I've done is to keep them safe!”

“And what a great job you've done! I'm sure Mitch really appreciated it!” Clementine spat out. Before Minerva could respond,  Clementine rammed the door. The raider fell to the ground with a startled cry while Clem scrambled to her feet. Aasim and Omar immediately took notice, rushing to the door. She reached for the latch only for Violet's ex to kick her leg out from under her.

“Look out!” Aasim shouted, making Clem leap back and narrowly dodge the raider's slashing blade. It scratched against the metal with a horrid squeal while the brunette pushed herself away from the other woman. She shakily stood up just as Minerva did the same. “Minerva, stop!” He demanded, shaking the bars. Minnie ignored him, charging Ericson's leader with a furious cry. Clem decided to catch her off guard and charge back seconds before the two collided. The knife clattered against the metal floor as the two of them fought, Clementine slugging her older opponent across the jaw before grabbing for a weapon. She fumbled it upon receiving a harsh blow to the gut that threw her onto her back. The unmistakable sound of scraping metal reached her ears, making her hop to her feet just to be kicked in the knee. She stumbled but caught herself with her left arm pressing against the wall, swinging at her captor with her right hand. It was at that moment that she noticed the glint of steel rapidly approaching her.

It felt like time had come to a crawl as Clementine watched the knife draw closer and closer to her eye. Each and every indent of the saber-grind blade seemed to become more and more clearly defined with each passing moment. There was no time to grab it or even just move out of the way. The only thing she could do was soberly acknowledge the reality of it: she was about to be stabbed in the eye. It wouldn't be long before it made contact even with time operating at a snail's pace. Despite her pounding heart and overdrive brain, a single, disappointed word filled her brain just before it reached her.

_“Fuck.”_

The tip of the blade slashed across her cornea and iris in a hellish streak of blood and steel. Clementine shrieked in abject suffering, indescribable pain filling her destroyed eye as she toppled to the ground in shock. She could hear her friends screaming but couldn't tell voices apart as her heart drummed in her ear like a nightmarish concert. Panic surging through her, Clementine desperately crawled away from her attacker, one hand covering the wound and the other fumbling for something solid. Crimson filled the right side of her vision for less than a second before a merciless darkness encompassed it. The sensation of ungodly burning was the only thing left in the annihilated globe, the young survivor feeling boiling hot blood spurting out from its remains causing crippling anguish. It spilled onto her hand and floor below with a disgusting _splash_ sound. Just above the frantic beating in her ears however was the sound of falling boots, Minerva no-doubt close behind.

“You're the fucking problem!” The voice shouted. She wretched violently as she was kicked onto her back, now staring up at Minerva’s furious face. The redhead raised her bloodied knife once more, shouting, “I WON’T LET YOU GET THEM ALL KILLED!” just as she started thrusting it downward. Clementine’s hands dove for the blade on pure instinct, the wounded leader of Ericson’s desperately trying to force the weapon away from her. Minerva dropped to her knees and pushed it downward with both hands, the steel slipping through Clem’s slick hands. Fear and resilience competed for dominance as she felt her arms grow weaker and weaker by the second and her remaining eye saw it grow closer and closer to her. Minerva let out an almost inhuman growl as she twisted the knife and gave one final shove, managing to break Clementine’s defense just long enough for serrated steel to plunge half an inch into her eye socket. She howled agony and absolute terror with each and every millisecond that she remained conscious for, feeling herself being rapidly pulled away from the real world as her life was flashing before her. The smiling faces of her parents at her 8th birthday party, meeting Lee, Duck and her playing at the Motor Inn, reuniting with Christa and Omid, seeing Kenny again, a starry night with a girl, a laughing baby in her arms…

_“A… J…”_ She vaguely recognized as the once distinct memories seemed to bleed together. She tried to hold onto them, but it was like sand falling between her fingers. The pain seemed to drift away alongside it, the once unbearable sensations now barely noticeable to her. The thumping in her ears was gone but nothing replaced it. In a way, it was the most peaceful she’d felt in a long time. Somebody had told her it felt like that once, but the names and faces seemed so hazy. She realized it was feeling harder and harder to keep awake, but for some reason she was afraid of falling asleep. A panic filled her, screamed at her to keep going, but she couldn't understand why. It felt nice here… but also somewhat wrong, the more that she thought about it. Like she had been here before, and had nearly lost something to it. Clementine struggled against the endless void around her, at first remaining completely still. After putting in what felt like all of her strength, she felt her finger twitch slightly, filling her with a hope she’d never felt before.

As she regained control of her body, the first thing to strike her was the pain. Another scream of agony escaped Clementine as it all suddenly shot back to her at once.The pressure of the blade was gone but the blood seeping from the wound more than made up for it. The panicked thumping of her heart was back while it felt like her entire skull had been set alight and her lungs were burning from the strain of keeping her alive despite the severe wounds. Through the pain and her own shouts of anguish, the young survivor could hear muffled snippets of an argument.

“-less… just… bullet in-”

“-order! Stop… eeding!”

None of it was clear enough to comprehend, nor could she even see what was going on. All Clementine could focus on was staying alive in that moment. She tried her best to steady her breath, taking deep lungfuls in and out as consistently as she could manage through the inhuman aching. She tensed up as a ball of liquid soaked cotton painfully rubbed against what was left of her eyes, a distraught hiss making it passed her lips. Clem attempted to move her arms and legs but found them strapped down to something. She shook against her restraints as much as she could to little avail, aside from one of her apparent operators yelling at her in annoyance. A needle stabbed into her arm a few seconds later. The blinded brunette kept struggling for as long as she could, even as sleep tugged at the back of her mind and made her limbs feel like cinder blocks. Eventually, though, it couldn't be resisted. She slowly but surely slipped into unconsciousness with little more than weak grunt of defiance.

***

Darkness surrounded Clementine like a suffocating blanket. At first, she wasn't sure what was going on. She was certain her eyes were open, but her vision was still pitch black. A sharp stinging coursed through her globes but nothing else. Confusion filled her mind for a moment until the memories flooded back to her all at once. When they did, she screamed.

Clementine had always prided herself on keeping cool under pressure, but if there was a time when hysterics were acceptable, this was it. She struggled for breath as she tried to contain a sob, clenching her teeth as the mild stinging grew into a boiling heat in her annihilated corneas. The girl reached for her face but found her wrists tightly bound to a table or something beneath her. This didn't stop her from rattling the cuffs as much as she could, a growl of pain and frustration rumbling out from deep within. She was _blind_. The pain of losing her eyes was nothing compared to realizing everything she'd lost because of it. She'd never get to see AJ's smile again; never have a chance to watch a sunrise or stargaze, never drive a car. She could never survive without someone else's help ever again. How could she ever hope to do anything to help her friends if she can't even walk down a hall without aid?

They hadn't just taken her eyesight, they took her independence. For as long as she lived, Clementine could never be alone whether she wanted to be or not. A burden on those around her. For the first time in years, Clementine felt truly weak. The young woman couldn't keep back her anguish any longer, quiet sobs escaping her and making her shudder slightly.

She stiffened as she heard the sound of one of the cell doors unlocking before someone stepped in. For a moment, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. As the silence dragged on, however, the despair inside of her turned into an unspeakable rage. “I know you're there! Say something!”

More silence. The footsteps grew closer before stopping once more. Clementine flinched as she suddenly felt someone's hand cupping her chin while a person sighed.

“Still alive, I see. You're lucky, you know. If I were even a second later, you'd be dead right now.” Lily's voice almost managed to sound remorseful as she spoke to the girl she'd known so long ago. Clementine scowled at the source of the sound.

“ _Lucky_?! I'm blind, you evil bitch! You… you fucking animals!” She shouted, enraged. Clem tried her best to break free from the restraints without success. The woman next to her scoffed.

“Would you rather I let Minerva shove a knife through your brain? Believe it or not, this isn't what I wanted.”

“I'd rather you didn't kidnap people to fight in your war!”

“Welcome to the real world, Clementine! Sometimes you have to do bad things for the right reasons. You're hardly innocent either. What kind of a monster shoves someone into a herd of walkers over a few boxes of food?” Lily questioned rhetorically. Clementine tried to roll her eyes on instinct, gasping in pain and cringing as the severed nerves failed to function.

“Abel forgot to mention he shoved a gun in my face. People who threaten me don't tend to live very long,” Clem threatened with the best glare she could manage in her state. She assumed Lily was giving her a look, but couldn't really tell.

“You almost sound like me. Lee would have been so disappointed that he died just for you to-”

“Don't EVER say his name!” Clem spat out. “You don't deserve to have met him. Even at his worst, he was better than you could ever hope to be!”

The hand on her chin grabbed her throat and squeezed. The bound survivor flailed under Lily's stranglehold, unable to even attempt to fight back. “He murdered my father in that meat locker! However he and Kenny died, it was too good for them. I should kill you right now,” Lily hissed out. Clem struggled for air, feeling the lack of oxygen starting to affect her. Just as it seemed like Lily was actually going to do it, the raider let go with a growl.

The brunette could only gasp for breath, the familiar sting of burning lungs adding to the pain in her eyes. As her breath steadied, a thought struck her. A small, pained chuckle pushed past her lips. She could imagine Lily's glare as she barked out, “ _What_?”

“You can't do it, can you?”

The words hung in the air like smoke. The silence only encouraged her to continue taunting the leader of the raiders. “You didn't want to kill me in the woods, or at the school. You wouldn't let me die here. Even after everything that's happened, you're still hesitating.”

No response came back. Clementine didn't care. She finally had something over Lily. Something she could use to get out of this hellhole with a pulse. Something she could use to put them all in the ground. A chance to be useful again. In the endless black encompassing her, she could hear footsteps reverberate around her cell towards the door.

“What a waste. You would have been incredible in the Delta.”

“I would’ve slit your throat while you slept anyway.”

“My point exactly. None of them would have the balls to say that to me after a punishment like that.” Lily said with a somewhat impressed tone. The door rumbled to a close, leaving Clementine alone once more in the void that was now her existence. The only things to be heard were the sound of her own breathing and the occasional metallic groan of the boat. In the near silence, she took the pain she was feeling and channeled it into determination. Her eyes were gone, and she'd never get them back. But what she could get was _revenge_. It was people like Lily that made her turn AJ so cold-blooded. It was Lily that kidnapped her friends and got her eyes cut out. Hell, it was Lily that made the group fall apart at the Motor Inn! Nearly all her suffering could be traced back to Lily and people like her. She'd kill them all, and then maybe AJ could be a normal kid and her friends would finally be safe.

All she'd need to do is have patience and hope that Louis and Violet had a plan figured out. Until that time came, she'd need to get used to her new condition. With nothing but time on her hands, what else was there to do but at least start learning her cell's layout? She snapped her fingers, listening closely and thinking back to her memories of what it looked like before the incident. In truth, she had no idea how it would even work, but she'd heard stories of blind people 'seeing’ with sound. If that were the case, she'd be a fool not to at least try it. It would likely be years before she could even start to become proficient at it, but any start's a start. Anything that would help make Lily suffer and save her friends was a welcome idea.

***

“I'm so fucking sorry,” Violet repeated for what must have been the twelfth time as she held Clementine close enough for her to feel her girlfriend shaking with grief. The brunette was hugging back just as tightly, still relieved to actually be with her even in this hellhole. For the first time since losing her eyes, she felt the hate and sorrow melt away as she rested in her friend’s arms.

“It’s not your fault. This is on Lily and Minerva, not you. They’d have done the same to you or Louis in a heartbeat if they felt like it. All we need to do right now is get off the boat, okay?”

She felt Violet take a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll help you up,” The leader of the school agreed. Clem felt the restraints on her legs come loose soon after, slowly putting her feet on the ground and standing up. She faltered a little as her previous kick to the stomach momentarily ached, but she could feel Violet’s protective hold keeping her upright. She snapped her fingers again as she sluggishly walked towards the door, stepping to the right to avoid the corner of the bed. The pair approached the doorway, Clem testingly trying to push the door open. Naturally, it didn’t budge. “Figures. Violet, are there any screws on the bottom of the door?”

The blond was presumably taking a moment to glance at the panel in question before replying. “Yeah. They look pretty new.”

“Damn it,” She grumbled. “Guess they didn’t want to take chances. Did any of you-”

“Clem!”

Clementine’s heart somehow felt like it sank and rose at the same time. “AJ? Oh my god, AJ, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?” He questioned. She couldn’t bring herself to answer immediately. She was never very good at lying to him, but it seemed like telling him the truth would be worse. Even without seeing them, she could feel everyone’s eyes on her. After a few more moments, she settled on a non-answer.

“I will be, kiddo,” She said with the most comforting voice she could manage. Glancing at Violet, she dropped her voice to a whisper. “You brought AJ _here_?!” Clementine hissed, horrified that her son was now at the mercy of the same people who blinded her. Clenching her fists, she let out a breath and tried to reign in her emotions. “Just… let’s get out of here soon.”

“Louis, you alright?” Violet called out. He presumably moved to the window. She heard a humorless laugh from the same cell as AJ.

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Great, even. Just trying to figure out the best way to survive an explosion.”

Clem’s eyebrows raised beneath her blindfold. “Explosion? What do you-” She froze as she remembered seeing Mitch and Willy working on the bomb together, blood running cold as she put two and two together. “Oh, fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clem might be down, but she sure as hell isn't out.


	5. Making Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited in danger, Clementine and Violet form an escape plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nevermind the darkness, Clem.

_“You don’t get it. You- you don’t understand at all, do you?_

_I’m trying to PROTECT YOU!”_

“Swear,” AJ innocently pointed out. Clementine probably would have approved of her son's correction if she wasn't busy desperately racking her brain for another plan. There was enough of a stressful time limit when it was just the boat departing, but now there'd be even less chance to escape when Willy's bomb blows them all to hell.

“How long do we have?” She questioned Louis. No audible reply came at first, the traumatized teen glowering in his direction for him to take the hint.

“I was shrugging, sorry. To be honest, we have no clue. Could be right now,” He paused for a moment, no doubt testing to see if the world would take advantage of the dramatic irony. “Or it could be a dud. Best case, maybe half an hour after the engine starts. Vi, feel like taking that ribbon off-”

“No!” Clem shouted angrily. A small amount of guilt hit her as she pictured his likely startled and hurt expression, making her sigh before continuing in a more relaxed voice. “No. I'll explain later, but for now, just don't talk about it. We aren't moving yet, so at least we have some time… AJ, do you still have your knife? The little one?”

“Yeah, they didn't find it. Only the big one.” He confirmed. Clem nodded, a small smile adorning her face.

“Great. Hang onto it for now,” She replied. She turned to the right, facing what she hoped was Omar and Aasim's cell. “When I was-” She grit her teeth at the phantom pains brought on by even thinking of the event. “ _Out_ , did you overhear them talk about who'd guard the cells, or see someone different doing it? Lily probably would've changed the rotation.”

“I haven't seen Minerva since you-” Her expression hardened as she glared at him, subtly motioning towards AJ. Her bookworm friend seemed to catch her intention. “In a while. No-one else has come by. Guess they figure we're too scared to try anything.”

Sloppy on Lily's part. This might be the mistake that finally kills her. The idea made Clementine feel a little better as she ruminated on the information. Without a guard around, scheming with her fellow cellmates would be a little easier, but there was no way she or Violet could get the door open from the inside. “Louis, look at the bottom of your door. Is there an opening, maybe something you could get your hand through?”

The sound of Louis’ hand pressing against the just-thick-enough metal reverberated around the cellblock before his voice called back. “There's a tiny gap at the bottom, but that's it. It's too small to reach through.”

She frowned a little, but nodded in acknowledgement. An idea suddenly came to her, the blinded brunette perking up as the plan formulated. “AJ, I need you to slide your knife to me. Do it as hard as you can,” Clementine instructed. A moment later, the sound of the shiv rapidly skidding across the metal floor reached her ears. Focusing on the direction of it, she moved her foot in front of it, grinning as her prediction paid off and the weapon came to a stop under her heel. “Great job, AJ. Violet, I have an idea. Knowing Lily, she’s going to want to come down here and 'talk’. I'll pretend to be asleep. You'll have to tie me down again to convince her, but keep it loose enough for me to break out. Get her in front of the bed and I'll stab her while she's distracted. When I do, rush her. Alright?”

“Alright. I'm with you, Clem.” Violet promised. Clem smiled gratefully at her before turning back to her son.

“AJ, when the fight starts, keep your head down until it's over. You too, Louis. Keep looking for a way out until she comes here.”

“Staying out of fights is my specialty. I'll keep him safe.” The pianist quipped as she stumbled her way back to the bed. She rolled onto the small bunk with the shiv hidden in her palm. The leather restraints went over her wrists and legs once more, significantly looser than before but an uncomfortable sensation all the same. Clementine forced herself to ignore the doubt and dread scratching at the back of her mind, the little voice that kept whispering that she'd get them all killed or worse. She refused to let herself fall to despair again, at least while they were still surrounded by these monsters. She momentarily stiffened as a hand took hers but silently accepted her new love's reassurances. After five minutes of almost torturous quiet, the sound of an opening bulkhead and approaching footsteps echoed throughout the brig. Clem gripped the shank tighter with each step, taking a deep breath and stilling herself for the inevitable fight.

A minute later, the footsteps stopped. “Step away from the door.” A raider instructed. Clem's teeth clenched.

“Fuck you, Minnie!” Violet screamed at her ex with indignant rage. “How could you turn on us like that?!”

“STEP. BACK.” The redhead repeated forcefully, Violet’s reluctant footsteps soon following. The next set of footfalls was unmistakably Lily’s, the heavy boots combining with her self-assured and mockingly confident way of carrying herself to make a uniquely irritating sound. It took every fiber of strength in Clementine’s body to keep herself silent in the wake of her two worst enemies, clenching her fists so tightly that the shiv uncomfortably pressed slightly into her skin.

“Where’s Abel?” Her former friend demanded with a slight snarl. Nobody spoke up. After a few more seconds of silence, a harsh punch resounded in the room soon followed by a pained grunt from Violet as the girl stumbled backwards. “Do I look like I’m playing here, kid?! Tell me where my soldier is or I’ll break every bone in your body and keep going through your friends until someone does!”

Violet spat something out on the ground, the coppery stench of fresh blood filling Clementine’s nose. “Go fuck yourself. Hurts to lose people, doesn’t it?” She taunted with a biting tone. Lily scoffed at her defiant attitude just before the familiar sound of a pistol’s hammer clicking back made itself apparent.

“Alright, I guess we’ll do this the hard way. Back up,” Lily instructed with her characteristic smugness that Clementine had hated even as a child. The rusty door opened with a slight squeal as the raider casually walked in, Violet pressing closer and closer to the wall with each step. “You know, when I attacked your school, I thought Clementine would be my best catch. Strong, smart, young… she would have been a fantastic soldier, with the right coaxing. But then Minerva had to go and break my new toy. What did you do, Minnie? Make sure your friends can hear you.” The raider ordered with a voice dripping with an odd mix of disappointed anger and slight sadistic entertainment.

“I… I cut her eyes out, ma’am.”

“You-WHAT THE FUCK?!” Louis’ voice carried over, shock and horror clear in his voice.

“CLEM!”

It hurt Clementine’s soul to hear AJ’s terror, but she forced herself to remain silent. Christ, she could practically hear Lily’s devilish smirk at her son’s distress, filling her with even more anger. “Now Minerva, how can someone without eyes be a soldier?”

“... They can’t, ma’am.”

“Exactly,” Lily spat with any and all trace of humor gone from her. “You ruined my prize. Isn’t that right, Clementine?” She called to her. Clem bit her tongue hard enough that she could taste blood. “Aw, seems Lee’s little girl lost her spirit. Right before her friends showed up to save her, too. How disappointing. But… then we have you. What’s her name?”

“Violet, ma’am.”

“ _Violet_ ,” Lily repeated the name with audible intrigue. “Before this little stunt, I was going to have Minerva kill you to prove she isn’t a complete fuckup, but I’m genuinely impressed. Even without Clementine, you managed to kill FOUR of my most experienced soldiers, kidnap another one, and sneak onto my boat under the cover of a herd? You might just make up for what we lost.”

Hatred filled Violet’s voice. “Fuck you! You honestly think I’d EVER work for you after what you’ve done to my friends?! To Minnie?! TO CLEMENTINE?!”

Clementine could practically see Lily's smirk smirk as she motioned the gun at the supposedly tamed prisoner. “She said the same thing when she got here. Clementine was the strongest out of all of you, and now look at her. She's useless. You can’t fight if you can’t see, and that makes her just another mouth to feed. But she means a lot to you, doesn’t she? I bet you’d do anything to keep her alive… but that can wait. I want to tell you a story first. Let’s call it… the parable of the twins. Two girls were taken from their home and brought to a new place to live...” Lily began as she leaned against the wall beside the doorway and bed, teasingly close to Clementine’s range but just far enough away to still be too risky. “They had to leave their friends and family behind, even a girlfriend,” She emphasised, no doubt looking straight at the suddenly very quiet Violet. “But the new place was a good place. The people there grew corn and raised pigs, and the twins are well for the first time in years. They had hot showers, clean clothes, guns. They gave everything to these girls, and only asked that they do the same for them. To defend the group like they’d defend the twins-”  
“Or what, they get their eyes slashed? Sounds real fucking generous to me.”

“That only happens to the ones that don’t know when to quit,” Lily forcefully retook control of the conversation. “One of the girls saw that this was a place worth fighting for, and her tears dried. But the other twin… well. She could never forget her old home, and resisted her new one for not being the same. Rejected every gift and opportunity, stirred up trouble every chance she got. She convinced her sister to steal a raft and escape on the river…”

Clem knew where this was heading immediately. A pool of dread settled in the young girl’s stomach the more she pictured Violet’s expression, her thoughts, everything she must have been realizing at the same time. Even despite feeling certain what Lily was about to confirm, she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it. Not even they could be that twisted, right? “They didn’t get very far, of course. What happened then, Minerva?”

After a moment of hesitation, the surviving twin answered. “I killed her.”

All hell broke loose in that moment. Everyone from the school shouted out their shock, poor Louis and Violet being the most vocally uprooted. “Minnie… no! Tell me that’s not true!” Violet demanded, a small chuckle escaping Lily.

“Minerva, why would you kill your own sister? Surely you loved her more than anything?”

“... Not more than the Delta. I made a mistake, and needed to prove my loyalty to the place I call home.”

Clementine felt sick to her stomach. She already hated Lily and Minerva, but… to kill her own sister? To find such a thing _funny_ ? No. None of them could make it off this boat alive. There was no repairing the damage done to Violet’s former love, that much was blatantly obvious. Lily smugly waltzed towards the front of Clem’s bed with an almost audible sadistic smile. “Like it or not, _accept it or not_ , you’re all my people now. So which twin are you going to be, Violet? The loyal one, or the dead one?”

Clementine was rapidly losing patience. One inch closer, and it would all be over. “What have you done to her head, you fucking psychotic bitch?! You’re evil, you hear me?! Fucking evil!” Violet roared furiously. Lily sighed.

“Kind of what I expected you to say. Maybe someday you’ll realize there’s a price to pay for making things difficult,” The raider lamented. Clem felt Lily’s thumb sliding over her forehead down to her remaining eye before stopping and filling the blinded brunette with pure terror. “Sorry Clem. Looks like your little friend-”

Clem shot up and shoved the shank into Lily’s shoulder before twisting it. A bloodcurdling scream rose up from the raider leader as she ripped her hand away in shock and prepared to shoot, only to have the gun knocked out of her hand as Violet tackled her from behind. The pistol skidded across the metal floor and bumped off the wall, settling in the corner adjacent the bunk while Violet tried to keep Lily on the floor. She threw the blonde teenager off and ripped the small knife out of her back, swinging for the girl. Violet’s head hit the wall as she fell, disorientating her.

Everyone was shouting, making it hard for Clementine to make out anyone’s location in her condition. She kicked wildly at where Lily ought to have been, managing to land a good hit on Lily’s ribs before feeling an arrow just barely miss her head. Before she could react, Lily kicked her feet out from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground. She could already hear Minerva loading another bolt as she made a break for the gun.

***

Through her blurred vision, Violet could see Lily wrapping her hands around her neck. She grunted as Lily slammed her against the wall once more, glaring at her in pure hatred. The raider was hunched above her as she strangled the life out of Ericson’s leader, Violet frantically scratching at Lily’s face in an attempt to break free, but it proved futile. Rapidly running out of air, she looked to Minera pleadingly. Her former love was aiming her crossbow at Clementine as she desperately rummaged for the pistol, but hesitated when Violet’s plight caught her eye. Unable to speak, her eyes begged Minerva to help even as darkness threatened to overtake her. Uncertainty was plastered all over the redhead’s face as she stood frozen in place. Panic overcame Violet as the inky black grip of death began to consume the rest of her vision. Determination replaced indecision on the former student’s expression moments before the _thwack_ of a firing crossbow sounded off, blood bursting out of Lily's impaled head less than a second later. The raider leader went limp, collapsing on top of Violet. Violet gasped for breath, shuddering as she tried to get as much oxygen in as possible. “M-min…” She gasped out.

Clem came to her side, holding her close. “Deep and slow, going fast will make you pass out,” She guided, steadying her friend’s breathing. Violet smiled at her, mentally kicking herself when she remembered Clem couldn’t see it. She hugged the blind survivor tightly. Something thumped to their right, Violet turning to find Minerva had dropped her crossbow. She was shaking heavily as she approached her ex-girlfriend.

***

“Violet, I-fuck, this is-I’m so-this-” Minnie froze at the click of the gun's safety. Clem had almost finished aiming the pistol at Minerva when someone grabbed the gun and pointed it away just before it fired, missing the raider.

“Shit!” Clem swore as she jumped to her feet. She snatched the makeshift blade out of Lily's grip and once more pointed the gun at the redhead. She heard Violet stand up and rush between the two.

“Clem! Stop!” Violet shouted, confusion and annoyance mixing on the brunette's face. “It's over! She doesn't need to die!”

“ _Bullshit_!” Clementine growled. “She cut my fucking eyes out! She killed her own sister, Violet! We can't trust her!”

“Clementine?!” AJ yelled out in concern.

Worry came over Clementine's features, debating whether or not she should deal with Minerva or check on AJ first. Ultimately, her concern for him won out. “Violet, if you care about her, don't let her near me,” She ordered as she rushed over to the other cell, ripping out the latch and getting to one knee. She held her arms open for her son, pulling him in close and running a comforting hand over the back of his head. “Hey there, goofball. God, I'm so glad to see you again,” Clem whispered to him motherly. After a moment, she loosened her grip and faced him, managing a comforting smile. “I'm okay.”

“But your eyes…”

Clem's smile faltered a little. “I… I'll be okay, kiddo. I'm better just by having you around.” She replied slowly.

“Clem… fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were- I couldn't-” Louis stumbled over his words in guilt.

“It's okay, Louis. You couldn't have known. You're here now, aren't you?” Clem consoled her guilt-ridden friend. After a moment of silence, she gave something between a scoff and a laugh. “Let me guess, you were nodding?” The girl pointed out, the awkward shuffling of his feet speaking volumes. She heard footsteps approaching from behind, tensing up as she heard the voice of the person she hated more than anything.

“I could help...” Minerva announced with a barely audible voice. She spun around and raised her weapon again, glaring at the source.

“You wanna help? Stand still and close your eyes!” Clementine spat out, aiming the gun in the general direction of her enemy's voice. In truth, she still had no clue where to aim if she actually wanted to hit Minerva, but even the chance of shooting her was too tempting to pass on.

Someone let out a deep breath behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Clem… come on. Put the gun down.” Louis gently coaxed, bitter anger boiling inside her.

“Seriously? You too?” She demanded with a scowl. “Did both of you forget what she just said in the cell? What she’s done?” Her finger slightly shifted on the trigger.

“Clem, believe me, I probably hate her about as much as you do right now, but this isn't how we do things-”

“Sure seemed to be when Marlon was about to shoot me! I don't remember you trying to stop him then.”

She could all but see him flinch at the harsh words but she couldn’t care less amidst her rage. After a moment, he seemed to collect himself. “Yeah. I made a mistake. Now I'm trying to make sure you don't. Are you really going to shoot someone when they're unarmed?”

“It wouldn't be the first time,” She growled. Her aim steadied on the girl. Louis’ hand lowered on top of hers and gently tried to push the gun downwards. She ripped it free of him before quickly taking aim again. “Get the fuck away from me!”

“I will if you put the gun down, Clem! Look at-” He stumbled as he realized what he'd just said. “Just-she killed Lily! She dropped her crossbow, even. She's not a threat anymore.”

“Look me in the eye and say that!” She spat as she yanked her blindfold up. Merciless wrath radiated off of her with each bitter word.

“I-wh-I-” He sputtered with clear horror. He shuffled back as he kept tripping over his own words, unable to comprehend the terrible sight before him. She lowered the blindfold again and turned back towards her mark.

“Enough! Clem, please!” Violet shouted desperately. “You don't need to do this. We don't have much time before the bomb goes off. We're almost safe now, Clementine. All you need to do is drop it,” Her girlfriend pleaded.

Something inside her snapped.

***

Heartbreak and betrayal were clear as day on Clementine's face. “Drop it? Just like that, you want me to let it go?!”

The leader realized her mistake with an icy dread. “Clem, that's not what I-” Violet didn't get the opportunity to finish as a shot rang out. Minerva's tumbled to the ground with a horrid scream, blood pouring out of her abdomen like a leaking dam. The blonde stood there in incomprehension for a few seconds, unable to accept the sight in front of her. She looked to Clementine, a bitter expression painting her features as the still-smoking pistol rested in her hands. Without even realizing what she was doing, Violet slammed her friend against the wall, holding her by the wrists to keep her from breaking free. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!”

“Let go of Clem!” AJ promptly demanded, grabbing his knife off the ground and trying to charge at Violet before being immediately stopped by Omar as he took a hold of the little killer.

“What I had to! None of us will ever be safe as long as even one of these fucking animals are still alive, including her!” Clementine spat back, face contorted in rage as she tried to break free of Violet's vice-grip. Heartache and disbelief clouded the blonde's mind as she stared in horror of the girl in front of her. Her new love just mercilessly butchered her girlfriend before her eyes.

“You… you fucking murderer! She was giving up! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Rage gradually dissolved into grief as Clementine began shuddering beneath her. “Please believe me, Violet! All I want is for you and AJ to be safe… I had to do this… I love you!” The blinded and broken leader begged her closest friend, voice breaking with the weight of eight years of agony. The gun clattered to the floor, muted by the sound of Clem's quiet sobbing. Violet was shaking, but she couldn't tell if it was with anger or sorrow. Before she could even think about responding, Louis spoke up.

“Guys, someone help me stop the bleeding!” He shouted over Minerva's groans of pain, snapping Aasim out of his captivated state. Clementine didn't seem to hear or care as she continued to break down. Violet slowly pushed herself off of Clem, the blind leader slumping to the ground. AJ broke free of Omar's grip, running to his mentor's side and hugging her tightly. It absolutely killed her to see her previously calm and confident friend reduced to this, but almost as strong were the feelings of betrayal and anger at the girl for what she'd done. She desperately wanted to hate Clementine and yet her heart refused to let her, the two contradicting emotions struggling for dominance.

She was so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed Minerva's screams had stopped, swirling around with a raised fist when a hand suddenly gripped her shoulder. Louis flinched, the blonde slowly lowering her hand. “Minnie passed out, but we stopped the bleeding. Ruby can patch her up if we get back soon.”

One of the many weights on Violet's heart lifted, her breathing becoming less difficult as the information set in. She glanced back at the broken shell that used to be Clementine and let out an unsteady breath as she knelt down to her level. AJ glared at her in suspicion, still tightly holding his shank in his small hand. “I won't hurt her, AJ. I promise,” She told the little boy. He was visibly skeptical, but he hesitantly relented as Clem turned to her with an absolutely miserable expression. Violet looked at her pitifully. The anger was still there, but knowing Minnie would live had kind of muted it, a mumble in her soul rather than the screaming it had been moments prior. In its place, her admiration of the girl in front of her stood unopposed. She hesitantly embraced Clementine, cradling her shuddering form in her arms.

“I'm sorry… I'm sorry…” The brunette kept muttering. Violet leaned forward and lightly kissed her dearest friend, holding it until she felt Clem's shaking lessen.

“I… I know, Clem. Let's go home, alright?” She soothed. Clem nodded weakly, letting Violet pick her up without resistance. She motioned for Louis to do the same with Minerva as the traumatized teenagers quietly fled the boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the alternate version of Broken Toys ends just one day before Take Us Back drops! I'm going to be playing through it at midnight, because fuck Tuesday being productive, I want to experience it as soon as possible!


	6. Broken Toys Stats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fun little alternate stats screen for this version of the story.

You and 43% of players left Clementine feeling BROKEN 

  * She was relieved when you rescued her
  * She was left unstable after her experience aboard the boat
  * She felt disgusted when you told her to forgive Minerva
  * She shot Minerva aboard the boat and argued to leave her for dead



You and 51.6% of players left AJ feeling VENGEFUL

  * He was intrigued by your view of forgiveness
  * He was horrified by Clem's treatment aboard the boat
  * He felt like he was doing the right thing when he helped kill Lily



You and 47.8% of players left James feeling HOPEFUL

  * James appreciated you sparing the walkers
  * He was disappointed when you said walkers were just animals
  * He felt welcome when you said he could join the school



You and 35.1% of players left Louis feeling USELESS

  * He was shocked with how detached Minerva had become
  * He felt belittled when you ignored his advice and walked through James’ barn
  * He was guilt-ridden when he discovered Clementine's condition
  * He disagreed with Clementine and saved Minerva despite her wishes



You and 54% of players left Violet feeling REGRETFUL

  * She was worried for Clementine despite your efforts to lighten the tension
  * She felt betrayed by Minerva on the shore
  * She was upset when you put her on the spot about redemption
  * She was impressed by your leadership in the planning room
  * She was heartbroken when she found Clementine blind and unstable
  * She attacked Clementine for shooting Minerva



You and 23% of players left Minerva feeling ASHAMED

  * She was furious when you fought the Delta at the school
  * She was terrified of Lily's retribution after she blinded Clementine
  * She shocked herself by killing Lily to save Violet
  * Clementine mortally wounded her in the cell



You and 50% of players left Lily DEAD

  * Lily was unnerved when you gloated about killing Carver
  * She was outraged when Minerva blinded Clementine
  * She was impressed by Violet’s resourcefulness and ruthlessness




	7. Splitting Seams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors of Ericson's have safely escaped the Delta, but tensions remain high as the fallout of Clementine and Minerva's rivalry begins spreading to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus begins the episode four of this timeline! As a warning here, from this point on, the fic/notes are liable to contain Take Us Back spoilers to various extents. If you haven't played/watched/otherwise learned about 4-4 and don't want spoilers... why are you risking being on this site?

_ “We don’t know her, y’all! I’m sorry ta say, but we don’t!” _

The trek back to the school was as tense as it was long. Unease filled the air like a fog amidst the group, suffocating them a little more with each and every step. Louis nervously glanced back at their unofficial leader for what must have been the hundredth time since they started walking. The forest’s already poor lighting combined with Violet’s head hanging lowly bathed the blonde’s face in darkness and made her expression unreadable, but Louis was willing to bet it was the same one she had worn ever since the incident in the cells. God, he still couldn’t believe it was real. How the hell could everything have gone south so quickly? One moment Clementine was cracking jokes with him, and the next she was murdering Tenn’s sister. Two days of the Delta’s torture was all it took for her to go from a cool and collected leader to a homicidal neurotic. They broke her like an egg, and worse than that, he  _ could have stopped it _ . The idea ate away at him but refused to be banished no matter what he did.

His blinded friend in question was silently walking alongside Violet, clinging to her for guidance. Clem hadn’t spoken a word in hours, with her initial quiet sniveling being the most noise she’d made the entire time. AJ kept an almost mechanical pace with his mother figure and her girlfriend in equal silence. Louis frowned a little and turned back to the road. This tension was draining beyond belief, but every joke he thought of seemed in poor taste given the circumstances. At best, he could see them being unresponsive to his attempts and outright hostile to it at worst. He couldn’t blame them for either, really. Even he was feeling uncharacteristically taciturn given what they’d experienced tonight.

A small, pained groan pulled him from his thoughts. He looked down at Minerva’s cringing face, the former raider clearly suffering from the gunshot even in sleep. He tried to ignore the bitterness that filled him at the sight of his old friend. She didn’t deserve to get shot, but he’d be lying if he said he really held it against Clementine. It made him sick to think that, but… Minerva murdered her own sister in cold blood. Blinded his best friend. Betrayed them for Lily. The upbeat girl he knew was dead long before Clementine pulled the trigger. Saving her was one thing, but  _ forgiving  _ Minerva? He wasn’t sure he could ever do that.

Minerva’s quiet groaning continued for a few more minutes before her eyes slowly opened. Her blue eyes stood out in the pale night lighting like rubies, her gaze confused and unfocused. Louis pondered for a moment if maybe she’d turned and he’d get his throat ripped out for his good intentions, but thankfully, the only thing biting was her tone. “G-god damn it…” She gasped under her breath, cringing at the no doubt unpleasant feeling of having a bullet in her. After a moment, she seemed to put together that she was being carried and looked up at her former friend. “Louis…?”

… “Hi, Minnie,” He greeted lamely, glad that she was still alive but slightly perturbed about actually trying to talk to her after all he’d learned. The girl tried to move, grunting in pain and falling back when she accidently put pressure on her wound. “Don't wiggle around, okay? It's gonna make it worse. Just stay still.” Annoyance flared on the ex-raider's face, but she complied. Louis glanced around to see if anyone noticed, but the students were clearly too out of it to pick up on their quiet conversation. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot.” Minerva deadpanned. A small chuckle escaped Louis despite himself. Seems one thing about Minerva hadn't changed after all this time: her lack of patience for him. 

“That's good, probably. I mean, it'd be weird if it didn't feel like that, right?” He quipped, Minnie continuing to look unamused. He wasn't sure how much of that was her usual distaste for his jokes and how much of it was from the Delta fucking with her head. His smile faded as he thought more about that. A question burned inside him, begging to be asked, but dreaded to be answered. He forced himself to speak despite the unease building in him. “Minnie… did you really kill Sophie?”

She refused to meet his gaze. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds. By then, the silence was deafening. Louis could feel bile rising inside him as it fully sunk in. He stared at her with wide eyes. “Oh god… Minnie, how could you?”

“You weren't there. You wouldn't understand.” She mumbled. The pianist felt sick. His morbid confusion quickly turned to a fiery anger.

“You know what? I think you're right! How the fuck could I ever understand you killing your own sister?!” He shouted at the gutshot girl. That caught people's notice, Violet, Clem, Aasim, and Omar instantly snapping to attention. Irregardless, he continued his rant. “What the hell were you thinking?! 'Hey, these people seem friendly enough! I guess I'll work for them! My sister wants to get away from the psychotic asshole who kidnapped is? Guess I'll FUCKING MURDER HER!’”

“Louis!” Violet called, only to get promptly ignored by both parties.

“You don't know a goddamn thing about what I had to do!” Minerva shouted back. She glared at him with absolute disdain. The idea of dropping her flashed through his mind, but he ignored it. No, unlike a certain redhead, he wasn't a psychopath. 

“You didn't HAVE to do any of it. You killed her because you're a coward!” Clementine scornfully judged from behind to everyone's surprise. Gone was the traumatized, regretful tone she had gained when Violet disarmed her. In its place was a blend of disgust and anger that he hadn't heard since the night Marlon died. It'd been less than a month, but it already felt so long ago. Minerva's reply was about as expected.

“FUCK YOU, CLEMENTINE!”

“Enough, all of you! Knock it the fuck off before you bring every walker in these woods!” Violet demanded. Almost as if on cue, the soft moaning of the dead broke through the otherwise silent forest, nearly a dozen of them shambling out of the treeline. He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. Naturally walkers would just so happen to be around the one time he got truly pissed. Chairles was bouncing lightly against his leg with each step inside his coat, but he couldn't exactly swing his improvised mace  _ and  _ carry Minerva at the same time. Aasim stepped up to him swiftly.

“I'll carry Minerva. Keep them off of us. Meet us at the shack.” He instructed. Lou obliged, handing him their friend/prisoner of war and pulling out his ridiculous yet effective weapon. Eight, nine, ten… it'd be a little difficult, but he could manage it if he played it smart. To his slight confusion, though, he looked back to find Clementine and AJ hadn't budged despite Violet trying to pull her along.

“Back Louis up. I'll be fine,” Clem urged her (possibly ex?) girlfriend.

“I'm not leaving you ag-”

“He'll die if someone doesn't help! You're the best fighter here. AJ'll get me back.”

Uncertainty was painted all over Violet's face, their leader looking to him, Clem, and then back again. “I… shit. You better be safe when we get back.”

“You too,” Clem replied in an unexpectedly fragile voice, squeezing her hand before gradually let go of Violet, her son quickly taking a hold of her and leading her towards the rest of the group. Louis turned back to the approaching corpses and readied himself. The first one to get in range got the front of his face shredded off by the impact, turning around and hissing at him only to have his skull caved in on the return swing. Violet cleaved the second's head in half in a single swipe, an impressive if thoroughly disgusting amount of goopy black blood shooting out like a water fountain immediately after. Louis knocked another's leg clean off and moved to the next while his cleaver-wielding friend finished it off. The pair worked their way through the walkers just as they'd done so many times over the years, though with noticeably less banter from the irate musician. His sour mood was thoroughly exhausting, in truth. The second he got a chance, he was going back to his piano and trying to forget how fucked everything had gotten. 

More had shown up, but within a few minutes they were easily dispatched between the two survivors. Louis huffed a little, having managed to tire himself out with some brutal walker schooling. Looking around and not seeing anymore walkers, he stuck Chairles back in his bloodied coat. Okay, wash the nasty-ass guts off his clothes, then go to the piano. He turned to Violet, the girl currently struggling to pull her cleaver out of a particularly thick-skulled walker. He couldn't help but smirk at her frustrated mumbled curses and quip at her expense. “Lift with your knees, Vi! You'll make your slouch worse if you don't.”

Despite his good intentions, the sullen blonde glared at him. “What the fuck was that, Lou?”

“A joke. Something we could all-”

“I mean that bullshit with Minnie. What were you thinking?”

Louis scoffed, putting his hands on his hips. “I was thinking she killed one of our friends and crippled another one for life. So yeah, excuse me if I don't get over that like you have.”

“Fuck you, Louis,” She growled as she finally yanked her weapon free, pointing at him accusingly. “I haven't forgotten anything.”

“Then why are we pretending she's the same Minnie we used to know? Take a good look at what she did to Clem. God knows she can't do it herself!”

He stumbled as her fist slammed into his jaw, a surprised grunt escaping him from the impact. Fire danced dangerously in his oldest surviving friend's eyes as she glared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?! What happened to never giving up on her? To saving everyone, no matter what?!”

He rubbed his jaw nursingly. “What happened?” He laughed mirthlessly, bitterness on his tongue just thinking about it. “She killed Sophie. She blinded Clementine. She betrayed us over and over. THAT'S what happened, Vi. Just because I didn't want Clem to kill her doesn't mean I want to pal around with her and pretend she isn't a psycho!”

“It's not her fault! They brainwashed her for an entire year, Louis!”

He turned from her, crossing his arms in frustration. “Oh, great! She was brainwashed, so nothing bad she's ever done matters? Gee, if only Clem knew that! It's okay that you won't be able to see for the rest of your life, Minnie didn't mean it!”

“Minerva killed Lily! She helped us escape!”

“Does that bring Sophie back?!”

“Did kicking out AJ bring Marlon back?”

His blood turned to ice water. No. No fucking way she actually just said that. He HAD to have imagined that. He slowly turned to face her, mouth agape in shock. To her credit, Violet looked just as surprised herself, looking away in shame as Louis’ disbelief faded into withdrawn bitterness. He walked right past her without a word.

“Louis, I-shit, I didn't mean-” 

A thunderous boom reverberated through the trees and caught the two off guard, both spinning to find the source of the sound. Miles behind them, a plume of smoke rose over the river and blocked out the stars. Fire consumed a chunk of the woods, illuminating the distance in a brilliant orange haze. The two watched it in silence for a few moments before realization struck them. “Shit, if we could hear it from here, every walker for miles is gonna make a beeline for it. We need to get back to the school.” Violet noted grimly. He simply nodded once and continued walking away from her, not trusting himself to speak right now. Footsteps quickly approached until they were right by his side. “Look, Lou-”

“Don't, Vi. Do me a favor and just don't. We'll talk about it, but not tonight, and sure as hell not right now.”

To his relief, his friend remained quiet for the rest of the walk.

***

Reuniting with the rest of the group was an easy enough task. They'd stopped at the fishing outpost as planned and even met up with Willie, Ruby and Tenn before Louis and Violet had arrived. A remarkable amount of supplies were now stashed in the small building with even more still loaded on the beached raft hidden about a mile away. Food, medicine, maps, and even a couple guns were now officially their property, though there was the slight issue of none of them actually knowing how to use their newfound weaponry. Well, none of them that were mentally and emotionally stable, anyway. Still, it'd be a useful thing to have once their resident gunnuts were feeling a little less homicidal towards each other. 

Minerva had passed out again at some point, though they were at least able to give her some antibiotics while Ruby worked her over. The rest of the kids had thankfully gotten away with little more than some minor scrapes or mild bruising. She'd do Clementine's checkup once Minerva was finished, but in the meantime, keeping their raider friend from bleeding out was the top priority. Violet had ended up falling asleep in a chair near the table they'd propped Minnie on. She and Louis still hadn't spoken since their scuffle in the woods. It was morning at this point, but the harsh words traded between them still made any sort of friendly interactions impossible at the moment. 

Still, Louis couldn't help but grin as he looked over the veritable gathering of stolen goods. This was probably enough food to feed them for weeks at least. It felt good to know something about their mission turned out right. “Um… Louis?” A young voice questioned to his left. Tenn stood there, looking up at him with a concerned look. “Is Clem okay? She's been really quiet since she got here. I wanted to say sorry for trusting Lily back at the school, but AJ looked really mad when I tried going to her… did she get hurt because of me?”

Was there a sign on him saying 'hey, please ask me loaded questions’? He kind of missed the days when everyone saw him as the mildly amusing village idiot instead of the guidance counselor he was rapidly becoming. How was he supposed to answer that? 'Yeah, your sister crippled her and drove her crazy’? Fat chance of that. Still… Clem wasn't in good shape, and lying to him wouldn't do any good. Taking a moment to carefully consider his wording, he knelt down and put a hand on Tenn's shoulder. “Hey, none of this was your fault, buddy. It's just… bad luck, you know?” Tenn looked out the window, Louis following his gaze. Clem and AJ were sitting by the river, the brunette holding AJ close with one arm. It was such a normal sight that one would never guess she was completely blind. 

Regret laced his tone as he replied, “So she did get hurt. That's why she has that thing over her eyes…” The boy lamented. 

“... Tell you what, Tenn. Why don't I talk to them for a bit, and then you can apologize? AJ might calm down a little then.”

The scarred thirteen year old considered this for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Thanks, Louis.”

He flashed the kid a smile before standing up and walking outside. He let out a steadying breath to steel himself before approaching his friend. She stiffened a little as he came closer, AJ turning to face him. He looked quizzically at the older boy. “Louis?”

Just like that, most of the tension seemed to disappear from the girl's shoulders. She turned to him tentatively. “Hey guys. What's up?”

“The sky.” Clementine replied after a beat with a ghost of a smile. A half-laugh half-scoff tumbled from him as he gently sat down next to her, a grin of his own coming on.

“Technically true.”

“That's the best kind of true.”

God he missed this. If he ignored the dark purple blindfold over her eyes, it was like nothing had changed. Of course, they both knew all to well that wasn't the case. After a moment, he decided it was time to do his unofficial job. “Hey, Clem? Could we talk for a bit?”

Her smile faded, a somewhat somber look taking its place. “... Yeah. We probably should. Hey, AJ, why don't you play with Tenn for a bit?”

The boy scowled. “I don't want to. Tenn's a stupid shitbird.”

Louis could practically feel his eyes bug out at that. It clearly wasn't the reaction Clementine expected either based on the look on her face. Surprise and parental firmness mixed as she scolded her son with a lightly puzzled expression. “Alvin Junior! How can you say something like that? He's your friend.”

“He's why you got hurt! If he didn't talk to Lily, you wouldn't have gotten taken away!” He crossed his arms. Clementine lightly cupped his cheek to get his attention.

“Look at me, AJ,” She commanded. He reluctantly did as she asked, an intense expression covering her features. “This isn't anyone's fault but Minerva, okay? Not his, not Violet's, not yours. You can't hold it against him.”

“No! He got you hurt, just like he got Mitch killed!” The young boy shouted angrily. He glared at Louis with a frown. “Why do you want to talk with Louis anyway? He and Violet helped that girl even though she hurt you bad! What kinda friends are you?!” AJ accused hatefully, not seeming to notice how much those words actually hurt Louis. He opened his mouth to retort, but shut it in shameful shock. 

“AJ, that's enough! Say you're sorry, now.”

AJ pulled out of her grip. “No! I… I'm going on patrol!” He shouted angrily, shoving past her and grabbing one the spears before running off from them. Clementine couldn't hide the hurt from her face as she slumped, lowering her head.

“Fuck,” She muttered to herself. Louis started standing up to go after him, but Clem caught his wrist. “Let him go. He… he just needs space.”

He slowly sat back down with her. For a short while, neither of them spoke, only the sound of the stream and the distant conversations of the other students interrupting the silence. After some time, she spoke again, her voice just barely a whisper. “... Why did you save Minerva?”

Shit. Well, go time, it seems. “Clem, I get why you’re pissed, but-”

“I'm not angry.”

Three simple words, yet they threw him through a loop. “... What?”

“I'm not angry,” Clementine repeated.  “Not at you or Violet, anyway. I just don't get  _ why _ . Violet still loves her, that much is obvious, but I heard you in the woods. You weren't lying to me when you said you hated her, so why did you save her?” She turned to him, nearly making eye contact. “Why'd you save me and AJ after what we’d done?”

“... If I'm being honest? I don't really know. I try thinking about the things she's done and I get sick to my stomach, but in the moment, all I saw was her bleeding out and I just couldn't watch it happen. Maybe I'm just weak, but I don't think I have it in me.”

Clementine didn't speak. It was a lot harder to tell her thoughts without those expressive yellow globes of hers. To his surprise, she smiled at him. 

“You're a good person, Louis. That's the opposite of weak. You're not like me.”

Louis’ brow raised in confusion. “Uh, Clem? You and weak don't belong in the same sentence, let alone being a bad person.”

She shook her head. “I taught AJ that murder was wrong and then I turn around and gun down a woman right in front of him because I was pissed off. Sure sounds weak to me.” Clementine lamented. He tried to respond only to be cut off by the girl. “If I'm being honest, I'm kind of scared, Louis. On that boat… I was angrier than I’d ever been. So angry that I don't even remember shooting her. One moment she's behind me, the next she's bleeding out and Violet's calling me a murderer. Sometimes I'm fine like right now, but then I'll just get this burst of anger out of nowhere. I can't even tell what triggers it, but once it happens, it's like all I want is to tear something apart. I know I'm losing it, but I can't do anything to stop it…” She trailed off, voice breaking a little. Clem ran a hand through her hair, knocking her signature cap slightly out of place. “What if the next time it happens, it's you, or Violet, or… god, what if it's AJ?”

Louis pulled her into a hug without hesitation. “It won’t, okay?”

“You don't know that.”

“I know you, Clem. I know that no matter what, you'd die before you'd even think about hurting any of us and probably not even then.”

“But I-”

“I trust you.” Louis interrupted. Clementine was clearly stunned by how steadfastly and earnestly he had said it, looking at him in astonishment. Clem soon returned the embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. A small giggle reached Louis’ ear after a few seconds, the girl pulling back and giving him a playful smirk. 

“I guess you weren't paying attention during truth or dare. You might end up kissing a walker head if you trust me too much.”

He laughed and her smirk grew to an actual smile. For the first time since before they raided the boat, honest to god joy filled the young jokester's spirit. And hey! Clementine feeling something other than murderous rage or crippling self doubt! He finally did something right. As the laughter died down, she smiled at him again. “Thanks, Louis. I… this helped. A lot.”

The pianist was about to reply when a rustling started coming from the treeline. He and Clementine jumped to their feet, Louis grabbing his chair leg tightly as they waited. AJ stepped out of the woods with a slight smile, a familiar man in a walker mask lingering close behind him. “Patrol's done!” He excitedly announced.

Louis eased up slightly, releasing his weapon and instead crossing his arms at his somewhat disliked ally. “Well, if it isn't mister tall, dark and handsome himself. Thanks for bringing AJ back.” He said, tone a little more cordial in the latter half.

Clementine looked bewildered for a moment before her eyebrows shot up in understanding. “Wait… James?”

“Hello, Clementine. It is… nice, to see you again,” The ex-whisperer greeted with a hint of relief in his tone. Louis couldn't help but notice her trouble following him as he walked, James’ footfalls apparently too quiet for her to track. AJ approached him with his happy look shifting to something more remorseful.

“I'm sorry I said you were a bad friend. You're not. I just… I'm just mad. About what happened.” He explained. Louis glanced at James and Clementine, both of whom were giving approving looks to the young child. Well, how could he say no to a face like that?

“It's all good, little man. Tell you what, when we get back, how about I start teaching you how to play the piano, take your mind off things?” He offered, heart warming when his brown eyes lit up.

“Really?” He asked excitedly. He looked to his adoptive mom, practically bouncing. “Can I, Clem? Please?”

She chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Of course, AJ. You'll be great.”

It was refreshing to see happiness on the kid's face over the dour frown that had replaced it for hours. Crunching leaves and a southern twang came from behind. “Clem? Lou?”

“Present!” He called back. Ruby stepped into view shortly after and casually strolled towards them. 

“It's time fer yer checkup, Clem. We'll start headin’ back to the school when we finish up,” The redhead announced. Her eyes lingered pitifully on Clementine's blindfold. Yeah, figures they would've told her what happened. The blinded brunette slumped a little. “Don't worry. Ah Promise Ah'll be quick.”

Louis took her by the shoulder, Clementine looking at him gratefully before looking a little to the left of AJ. “I have a job for you, kiddo. I want you to see Tenn, okay? Remember what I told you.”

The boy crossed his arms. He looked conflicted as he glanced between her and Louis. He let out a sigh and hung his head. “Alright… James, wanna hang out with Tenn and me?”

The whisperer looked a little surprised at the offer. “I… well, um…”

“Willie'd be pleased as punch ta have ya ‘'round, you know.” Their resident doctor subtly urged.

“... That would be nice.”

Huh. Louis had really expected him to say no. He initially felt disapproval of the idea after the weird shit he'd put in AJ's head, but upon reflection, maybe talking with something other than rotting bodies would do the guy some good. He took a step forward and patiently waited for Clem to match up with him. Slowly but surely, the pair of them walked to the impromptu hospital behind the shack. 

***

If Clementine were being honest, she didn’t like having to be guided everywhere. In fact, she hated it. She was thankful to have friends so steadfast to help of course, she probably would have died on the way back if it weren’t for Violet’s guidance, but it also brought about a constant feeling of uselessness she hadn’t felt since she got Lee k- since a long time ago. An ever-present reminder of the fact that she’d have to depend on other people for the rest of her life after years of relying solely on herself.

Despite the unending void that was her vision these days, Clementine was at least familiar enough with the area to have a rough idea of where she was. If the stream were about ten feet away based on the sound, she should be pretty close to the front entrance of the shack. She picked up on water splashing in a bucket and something being wringed out a little bit ahead. Washing blood off, maybe? Sure enough, just a few seconds later, Ruby spoke up again. “Yer doin’ great, Clem. Alright, do me a favor and sit her in this here chair.” She told Louis, patting on the seat to the young survivor’s right.

“Wait. I want to try it myself,” The brunette spoke up, looking where the southerner’s face ought to have been. Her self-confidence was shaky enough just being led around. She didn’t think she could take needing help to do something as basic as sitting in a goddamn chair. She could practically see the uncertainty on the doctor’s face. Figuring Ruby might try to shut the idea down for obvious reasons, she added in a little extra arm twisting. “Please…”

“... Alright, Clem. Just be careful, ya hear?” Her doctor/good friend instructed. She tried to hide the smile from her face as Louis let go of her. Cool, apparently people feel as bad for the blind as they do little girls. Seems like her old manipulation skills still had some use after all this time. Puppy eyes probably wouldn’t work anymore, but the poor and defenseless card still worked like a charm. Feeling reinvigorated, Clem reached out and testingly patted around where the sound was coming from. She made contact with an armrest on the third attempt and grabbed onto it firmly. Clementine walked towards it and felt her foot bump into a chair leg. Sweeping it left and right to figure out where the chair was centered, she moved on to rotating herself before finally lowering into the semi-comfortable if thoroughly worn down office chair.

Maybe it was stupid to feel pride for doing something so minor, but it swelled in Clementine at that moment. Sure, it was just sitting in a chair, but she'd managed it (mostly) by herself just a day after losing her sight. A small start was still a start all the same. Satisfied with her small victory, the girl relaxed somewhat in the seat. Applause rang out from the left, Clem scoffing a little at Louis’ good-natured antics. “It's just sitting, Louis. Not like I ran a marathon or something.”

“As an expert on sitting down, I can say that it was an A plus performance. Few people can do it that well.”

“Idiot.” She muttered with a giggle. 

“Alrighty now. Okay, Clem, Ah'm gonna take off the blindfold now. That alright?” The medic tested. Amusement vanished from her in that moment, replaced with the all too familiar feeling of cold dread. She nodded apprehensively and her friend gently began. The hat came off first, probably to give Ruby a better view of the damage. Chubby fingers gently brushed past her ears and untied the tight knot that had kept her injury concealed for what felt like a small eternity. A couple seconds later, she felt the fabric fall away and the cool morning air replace the almost uncomfortable warmth of the blindfold. She stiffened as some of it drifted into her empty socket, an unnatural and gross sensation. “Oh, lord…” Ruby quietly gasped out.

Clementine quickly looked away in shame. It was unbelievably unnerving to hear people react to her with such pitying horror and not have the slightest clue what she actually looked like anymore. Was it really that bad? Would people always be so disgusted? She once more felt that sickening rage simmer in the back of her mind, unrelenting bleakness flooding through her consciousness. She closed her eyes, desperately hoping maybe she looked a little more normal that way. Ruby said something to her, but Clem couldn't recognize the words. Hands grabbed onto her shoulder while a soothing shushing reached her ears. “It's okay, Clem, you're okay. I'm here,” A voice with a country twang pleadingly reassured her. It reminded her of Luke in a way.

_ “He'd be thirty-three now if it weren't for you,”  _ A bitter voice reminded her. It only served to add to the cocktail of negative emotions swirling around inside of her mind. She grit her teeth, tensing up all over.

“Clem-shit, Louis, get help! We're here, Clementine. Yer okay, ya hear me? Just follow my voice, 'right?”

_ “That's right, just follow my voice. I'm sure you'll get there eventually.” Carver spat out with a cruel smile. _

Panic coursed through Clementine's veins. She tried breaking free of Ruby's hold on her, but exhaustion stole her strength. She weakly pushed against the doctor while anger and terror competed for dominance. More voices surrounded her, all of them blending together into an anonymous garble that filled her with a primal instinct to fight or flee. She couldn't stay there, she  _ wouldn't  _ stay there, even if she had to kill-

“Nevermind the darkness,” A soothing voice sang out. Clementine paused. She knew this voice, didn't she? 

“Nevermind the storm…” It continued. A new hand was on her now, a soft, loose hold that gently slipped between her curls. Clem looked up at the source of the noise, everything else seeming to be mute at that moment. “Nevermind the blood red moon… the night will be over soon.”

Panic faded to uneasiness and again into peace. The fury was suddenly snuffed out like a candle, allowing her senses to return to her. “... Violet?”

A kiss was her only response, but it said more than any words could. Clementine didn't resist. She didn't feel great- damn near sick, in fact- but the arrival of her friend-turned-lover seemed to put her at ease. She reached out and managed to hug the girl. The pair remained like this until an awkward shuffling caught their attention. Ruby spoke, sounding more remorseful than Clem had ever heard. “Clementine, Ah am  _ so  _ sorry. That was wrong a'me ta do ta ya, and Ah promise it'll never happen again.”

“It's-it's fine. Just… what the hell was that?” Clementine questioned, a slight fog of confusion still looming over her.

“Panic attack. Brody would get them all the time before… before. Are you okay?” Violet's voice was still so calming even without her trying to be. Clementine pondered the question for a moment.

“... Stay with me?”

There initially wasn't a response, but she soon felt a hand take in her own, a fragile smile coming to her face. “Thanks, Vi…” A small laugh escaped her despite herself. “Sorry, Ruby. I never was a very good patient.”

“Ah've had worse, sug. Will you be alright if we tried takin’ a look at 'em again?”

Feeling Violet squeeze her hand, Clem found the strength to nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo as it turns out my "captured person becomes blind" idea wasn't as original as I'd thought after seeing Violet's fate in Take Us Back. Sorry Vi, but hey, you rock the eyepatch pretty well so I'd say it worked out.


	8. Accepting Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Louis and Violet try to come to grips with all that's happened, Clementine talks with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a more chill chapter this go around, though I'd like to think it's still at least as good as all the others.

_“Well, Clementine, you sure did raise a weird kid. Hmm. No kidding, Clementine._

_Maybe ‘cause you’re the sort of person who talks to herself when she’s alone.”_

Three days ago, if someone were to ask her how familiar she was with the school, Clementine probably would have told them she could navigate it blindfolded. As it turns out, that was still an accurate statement. She, AJ, and Violet walked through the winding corridors of the dorms in relative silence, all of them too tired to make conversation. In its place was an occasional finger snap. Ericson's vast, empty hallways proved to be excellent testing grounds for Clem's little echo trick. The sharp cracks reverberated through the halls with ease and gave the brunette a clear vision (for lack of a better word) of where she was in the school. Hell, she was even starting to get a feel for how far Violet and AJ were from her. Close, naturally. Neither of them were willing to let her wander around by herself just yet. Despite her previous insistence on independence, she was glad they were sticking with her, especially as the exhaustion of the past week finally started to catch up with her.

“Clem?”

“Hm?” Clem perked her head up. Wait, had they been talking the whole time, and she just didn't notice? She really must be tired.

“What're you doing?” AJ's curious and slightly concerned voice was far clearer this time. She turned to try to face him.

“What, this?” She asked, snapping her fingers again. Shit, he was a little to the left of where she was looking, if that short kind of pole-like thing next to her was supposed to be her son. Clem imagined he probably nodded, so she simply continued. “It's something that helps me walk. It's kinda like seeing things with sound.”

“People can do that too? I kinda figured it was just a thing for bats and dolphins.” Violet said with an impressed voice. Clementine shrugged. After all, it was hard enough to get her head wrapped around it. Trying to explain something she barely understood herself while also being dead tired sounded like a really good way to give herself a headache.

“Seeing with sound? So you're not blind?” He asked, somewhat confused. She couldn't help but smile a little at his naivete.

“No, I am, but…” She trailed off, still unsure of how to describe it.

“Wait… does this mean you really do have magic?”

Clementine chuckled, genuine laughter escaping her. She debated telling him no, but… sure. Fuck it. She was magic now. She smirked at him and cryptically said, “Maaaybe.”

She wished she could see the wonder on his face, but she tried to push it out of her head. Two breakdowns in less than a day was already far too many, no need to bring on another one. Pretty soon, the group fell back into silence. It felt like hours had passed even though she knew it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Clementine had all but passed out by the time they reached her and AJ's room. She didn't object when Violet whispered some instantly-forgotten words, gently took her by the arm and led the sleep-deprived blind girl toward her bed, falling onto the relatively soft bunk with a relaxed sigh.

It was hardly the most comfortable thing in the world, but compared to being handcuffed to a shitty little cot, it was heavenly. “Thanks, Vi...” She murmured out, already feeling sleep trying to pull her away. Her heart fluttered as the blonde leader's hand gently caressed her own. Violet said something to her, but it was just a mess of soothing sounds by the time they reached Clem's ears. She just gave a little hum in response. She felt her eyelids become heavy beneath her blindfold and she finally gave in, Violet's soft voice and comforting hold the last things she felt before drifting off to sleep.

***

Louis didn't think he'd ever be as thrilled to see the familiar graffitied walls of Ericson's Academy was he was when he finally sat down at his ever so dear piano. Well, sat down in loose terms. A more appropriate phrase might be 'collapsed on the bench and face-planted into the E, F, and G keys’, but hey, it's not like anyone was around to see his spectacular fuckup. Besides, the aged ivory keys were far more comfortable than one might expect, at least to a sleep-deprived musician dealing with way more responsibility than he was used to. It was technically only noon, but it felt like midnight after all he'd done that morning.

Willie and Tenn somehow had enough energy for watch duty, god bless'em, but just about everyone else was running on fumes. Aasim was nose deep in his journal- sorry, 'history book’ when Louis last saw him, no doubt frantically scrawling out all that had happened the past three days. Omar turned in shortly after making breakfast. Their reclusive leader, Clementine, and AJ had slinked off back to the dorms almost instantly upon arriving back at the school, though he wouldn't joke about that even if he were rested enough to think of something clever. If anyone deserved a good night's rest after all this bullshit it was them. Even Ruby's well-crafted doctor routine was beginning to chip away as the hours passed and the lines under her eyes grew darker, kept awake almost entirely by the need to check on Minerva every couple of hours. The only unaccounted for member of their group wasn't even one of them, really. He had no clue where James had shambled off to after he helped Ruby with Minnie, but he was frankly too tired to care where the insane if ultimately harmless weirdo was. All he cared about was tickling the ivories for a bit and going to sleep. Lifting his head off the keys, the exhausted comedian lazily dragged his finger from left to right and back again. He smirked a little bit at the cacophony. Sure, it was cliche, but there was something magical about the rapid elevation of pitch that always lightened his mood.

He idly pressed the keys for god knows how long. Sometimes he'd play simple old tunes, sometimes he'd just string random keys together and see if they worked. Seconds, minutes, hours, it all seemed to disappear amidst the symphony of sweet (if slightly out of tune) piano. Louis could hardly complain. That was his goal, after all. A couple hours of peace before dealing with this clusterfuck of a new status quo in the morning. Er… evening? The next morning? Who cares. The whole point was to _not_ think about how they were supposed to do about their most capable member being completely debilitated-nope, not thinking about that. Totally hadn't even crossed his mind. Wait…

 _‘Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum, bum ba bum ba bum ba bum…’_ The familiar tone he didn't even realize he was playing finally reached his. Louis groaned as he facepalmed, the music echoing in the room for but a brief moment before disappearing forever. This was stupid. Clementine's blind, everyone's scared, Violet is being… Violet, and here he was screwing around with his piano pretending like nothing's changed. Like they hadn't lost more people in the span of month than they had in the last three years combined.

Like it wasn't this same routine that let Marlon go insane.

The pianist closed his eyes. Was this his curse? To watch happy people crumble into despair around him? His parents had been the first, but they certainly weren't the last. All their faces and names were clear as day. Justin's knowitall tone overridden by terrified screams as a walker Louis had been to busy joking around to notice bit into the mathematician's neck. Marlon's slightly smug smirk always came to his mind second to the look of miserable defeat frozen onto the leader’s face forever after AJ's bullet ripped through his best friend's brain. Minerva's once mesmerizing voice left bitter and biting by heartbreak. Clementine's devilishly playful and confidant gaze replaced by unrelenting blackness and scars. He could go on and on. How many friends had been ruined because of his selfishly carefree attitude? If he had been as assertive about kicking Clem and AJ out when Marlon needed him, would he and Brody still have gotten killed? Hell, would the twins have ever been taken?

Louis stared down blankly at the white and black bars that had given him so much joy over the years. A finger hesitantly pushed down one of the keys, a high-pitched note shattering the silence like glass. He couldn't keep failing people. Damn it all, he was tired of letting everyone down, but how could he change it? What would Marlon have done?

_“They left us… oh fuck, they left us! What’re we gonna do?!” Brody shouted nervously, pacing around what had been the headmaster's office just the previous morning. The asshole had disappeared in the middle of the night, along with practically everyone else above the age of eighteen. Louis would be lying if he said he were any less afraid than the redheaded girl, but he tried to keep a grin regardless._

_“We could raid his booze stash. He's bound to have one, right?” The pianist joked, wild eyes darting to him._

_“Shut the fuck up, Louis! Don't you get it?! We're fucked! Fucking fucked!” Brody could barely get the obscenities out over her own fear. He flinched a little, but just wanted her to feel better. Suddenly, a voice range out from behind them._

_“I'm in charge.” Marlon announced. Louis and Brody both turned to him. He was currently looking out over the dozens of scared kids huddling in the courtyard as Ms. Martin desperately tried to calm them down. He looked at his best friend in puzzlement._

_“Are you serious, man?”_

_“As a heart attack, Lou.”_

_“Dude, you're twelve. You can't be in charge.”_

_Marlon looked at him, a hint of anger flashing in his determined eyes. “Look at them, Louis. You think any of them are gonna step the fuck up? Someone has to lead. Might as well be me.”_

The memory hit the comedian like a bus. Louis paused as realization struck him. The piano, the jokes, the pep talks… they were all well and good, but they wouldn't be enough. He couldn't just be the class clown anymore. He had to step the fuck up. He didn't need to give up who he was, but rather embrace the aspects he previously refused to. He… he needed to become a leader. If he was going to do that… well. He needed to talk with someone who knew how. Wordlessly, he rose from the bench and silently left the music room.

***

Violet had always been a bit of a night person. Long hours never bothered her even before the dead started walking, whether it was staying up late watching her shows with Grandma or sneaking around to spend time with Minnie after curfew. In a way, the apocalypse did her a favor. She could stay up brooding and working as long as she wanted without getting bitched at by one of the teachers the following day, or in especially bad cases, Headmaster Ericson himself. That grumpy old bastard always seemed to have something against her in particular, though that might have just been good ol’ Bartholomew's personality. A part of her really enjoyed the fact that she took the office of two of the worst fuckers she ever had the displeasure of knowing for her own.

The two came together nicely in her current activity: pouring over Marlon's old maps and notes even despite being up for nearly twenty-eight straight hours. For all his lies and madness, their late leader kept surprisingly good records of the school's supply returns and expenditures. Made sense, in a way. He was a pretty good student when he gave a shit and liked whoever happened to be teaching it. Case and point? He figured out the exact bare minimum of supplies that have to come in before they run a deficit down to the pound. If everyone had two meals a day every day for a week, between twelve people, they needed at least two-hundred pounds of food a week between hunting, gardening, and scavenging. Admittedly, the records hadn't been updated since Marlon bit the dust and she took charge with everything else going on, but she was damn certain they hadn't been catching that much even in the weeks before his demise and these papers confirmed it. They'd been digging into their winter supplies for nearly an entire month. They got lucky with the stolen cargo, but even then, it would just barely be enough to cover what they'd already used. They'd need to **massively** increase food production even when subtracting the dead from the count.

Violet groaned, tossing the paper back on the desk. Even in death, Marlon's shitty management was causing problems. At the very least, his stupid as fuck safezone was a thing of the past and the greenhouse was up and running again. Maybe now they'd be able to actually catch some food rather than have to sustain themselves on pure spite. With those sick fucks trapped at the bottom of the river, everything would probably get easier from here on out if they played it smart. Violet liked to think she was prone to making the right call.

Food situation aside, there were more problems to deal with. Between Clem's car accident, Louis and AJ getting shot, and now Minerva's injury, they were burning through medical supplies like wildfire. It wasn't at 'oh shit’ levels of bad yet, but they'd have to take care not to use much more until they could find replacements. Where exactly they were supposed antibiotics and painkillers was beyond her though.

Lastly, walker counts. There'd already been a noticeable uptake in walkers since Clem's last adventure in automotives, but that boat was a fuckton louder. She _really_ hoped the school was far enough away that no herds would pass through, but there really wasn't any guarantee of that. The walls of the school would hold, but if they lingered, there could be a real problem when they needed to resupply again. Worst case scenario, they might have to blow supplies on another bomb and have someone sneak out and detonate it to draw them away. About as stupid as it was dangerous. In truth, leadership was a lot more than Violet expected. No wonder it drove Marlon batshit crazy. Actually. thinking of that psychotic asshole, there was the matter of what exactly they were going to do with the surviving twin. As far as she knew, everybody in the group but Tenn and Willie were aware of what Minnie had done. At least some of them would want her gone as soon as it was clear she wouldn't die. If they put it to a vote, she'd almost certainly lose Minnie a second time. The bitter truth of it stung a little. After all this time, all this mourning, and she'd be gone as soon as she was back. Violet's fist clenched tightly as she thought about it. Not again. She wouldn't let anyone else leave her, not even someone who had betrayed her time after time. She would save Minerva, no matter what. Fuck anyone who'd try to stop her.

Except… Clementine would try to stop her. She'd already tried, in fact. There was no way Clem would ever be on board with letting Minnie stay, even if she were passed actively wanting to kill her. Anything the blinded brunette did, AJ was bound to support. Louis made his feelings clear on the trail, and Ruby's expression when they explained what happened… Christ, Violet couldn't ever remember her looking so disturbed and furious. Four votes against her right off the bat, and she couldn't even be pissed about half of them. Violet plopped in the headmaster's chair, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “This whole situation is so fucked…” She complained to empty air. The midday sunlight streaming through the window was obnoxiously bright compared to how late it felt, the annoyed blonde haphazardly meddling with the blinds until the bright shine was replaced by a soft orange glow.

Violet let out a deep sigh as she leaned back in the chair and planted her feet on the desk. Call her crazy, but she found herself missing yesterday. She had a clear enemy, a plan, and every intention of fucking them up. Now? Now she was scheming in the dark against her friends in order to keep another friend safe. How could things have gotten so complicated in a matter of hours? Her eyelids felt heavy, the blonde slowly but surely letting them close. Maybe things would be clearer after she slept. Or maybe they'd be worse. Who knew. Almost as soon as she finally felt herself slipping into sleep, there was a pounding on the door.

“Vi? It's Louis. We need to talk.” The resident funnyman's muffled voice carried through the thick wood. For a moment, she considered just not answering him, but then the guilt of her earlier remarks came back to her.

_“Did kicking out AJ bring Marlon back?”_

She mumbled a curse as she stood up. If he was willing to talk this soon, she shouldn't waste the opportunity. The door opened with a slight groan, Louis standing in the hall. Something seemed a bit different about him, but she couldn't quite place what. Maybe it was just her tiredness. He blinked a little, rubbing his eyes. “Jesus, Violet, open the blinds a bit. A little sunlight never killed anyone. Except Dracula… wait, are you actually a vampire? I mean, you're definitely pale enough for it-”

“Cut the shit and get to the point Louis.” She demanded, feeling much too tired to deal with his antics right now. An uncharacteristically sheepish look came over his face as his tone dropped to a considerably more serious one.

“Yeah. Right. I… I've been thinking about what's been going on. Not just today, but everything. Before the raiders came, you told me I needed to take shit seriously, and you were right. I've been a clown for years, and while I was doing that, Marlon was snapping. He died because I wasn't there to help him. If I were, maybe Minnie and Sophie wouldn't have gotten taken, and Clem could still see.”

Her gaze softened a little. “Or maybe shit would've gone down the same way anyway. Trust me. There's no point thinking about how things could have been.”

“Maybe,” He agreed, lips pursed. His eyes met hers before he continued. “But it doesn't mean I have to keep making the same mistakes. Marlon lost it because he was alone. You've got his job now, but maybe you shouldn't be the only one.”

Wait, was he saying what she thought he was? Surprise and confusion began to mix on her face as she asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“We do it together.”

He was saying _exactly_ what she was thinking. Violet's surprise faded into slight exasperation. “Louis-”

“I'm serious, Violet. I'm done with just being the fun guy. I want to be the fun guy that people can actually count on, but I don't know how to do that. You can teach me that, and I can make sure things don't go too far.”

Violet crossed her arms, looking away. “You think I'd take things too far?”

“No. But I didn't think Marlon would, either. We can keep each other in check. Don't you think we should at least try it?”

He always sounded so different when he was serious. Practically like two different people, really. It always made her wonder which one Louis was more like deep down. Violet looked him over as she considered his offer. Louis voluntarily stepping up? Not just stepping up, but wanting _her help_? She never would have expected it from her carefree friend. Almost unbelievable in fact. Maybe… maybe she could trust him with this. At this point, maybe he was the only one she could trust this with. She turned around and walked to the desk. “Come on. There's a ton of shit to look over. Sooner you get started, sooner we can start figuring it out.”

“I… thank you, Violet. Seriously,” He said genuinely as he stepped inside and closed the heavy door behind him. The little bit of light from the hallway was gone now, returning the room to its near pitch black state. She could practically see his smirk as he quipped, “Now, first official policy as co-leader? We keep the blinds open. It's an office, not the Batcave.”

“Wasn't that Batman's office or some shit?” She countered. He shrugged as he walked beside her, testingly putting a hand on the curtains. When she didn't immediately hack it off with her meat cleaver, he pulled them back and let sunlight stream into the room. She muttered a string of swears as it hit her eyes, the blonde frantically rubbing them in a vain attempt to make them adjust to the sudden brightness.

“Point being, unless you feel like giving me your see in the dark vampire powers, I'll need at least a little bit of light.”

She rolled her eyes as she sat down in the chair and lazily tossed him one of the newer record books. “Keep it up and I'll bite you.”

“That's cool, I always wanted to be a vampire. Count Louis, drinker of blood and lover of women and piano.”

Violet held her chin in her hand to hide a smile. If this worked, it might just be the best decision she'd made in years.

***

The first thing Minerva registered as she opened her eyes was pain. Familiar, of course, but no less excruciating. The firey sensation of a gunshot wound was one she had grown quite accustomed to, though none of them had hurt as badly as this one. Maybe that was karma finally paying her back. Getting shot in the very same place she'd wounded Sophie by a girl she maimed was probably the most poetic punishment Minerva could think of.

The raider closed her eyes, gritting her teeth a little. No. She wasn't dead yet. No point in thoughts like that until she was. Minerva pushed through the pain with a groan as she propped herself up on her arms. The room was unmistakably a medical one, faded diagrams and almost embarrassingly positive motivational posters covering the walls. A once-golden plaque had decayed to an off-brown color, its inscription barely legible: _Tiffany Martin, RN_. Confusion poked through her usual emotional barricade. Ms. Martin? She… she couldn't actually be back at the school, could she? Most of the past several hours other than getting shot were a blur. She struggled to think of the last firm memory she had and went through it piece by piece.

Louis, Violet, and the stray's kid had managed to get on the boat. Dorian was supposed to relieve her of her shift, but the woman was uncharacteristically late. Considering the battle just outside, in hindsight, she was likely dead at the hands of the three intruders. Violet was always so quick to trust her, even when it was painfully obvious that she shouldn't. She almost didn't feel bad for knocking her out. Vi had the nerve to leave her for an entire fucking year, and then just show up like nothing happened? That was on her. The Commander brought her along to 'motivate the recruits’, if you could call torturing them into submission motivation. The stray had gotten a knife somehow and attacked them. Violet was stupid enough or suicidal enough to help her, and she got strangled for it. Then… then she killed Lily. Minerva felt her stomach drop as the memory flooded back to her. “No, no, no…” She whispered to herself in growing terror. Minnie killed her commanding officer. Her life at the Delta was _over_. If they ever found her again… Christ, how could she have been so impulsive?! In two seconds, she threw away months of goodwill building after her first betrayal and in doing so put a target on her back. On Tenn's back. Everyone she ever cared about were in danger now.

Minerva jumped to her feet, only to cry out in pain as the prior ache exploded into a fresh hell and she collapsed to the ground. She could already tell some stitching had split, blood trickling out onto her hand and the floor beneath. The raider clenched her teeth and breathed out slowly to control both the pain and bubbling anger. Of course. That psychotic bitch Clementine put a bullet in her. How she'd forgotten that even for a second was beyond her, but clearly her mind was in an even worse place than usual lately. Footsteps were rushing down the hall just outside, but Minerva couldn't bring herself to care as she glared up at the ceiling. No, she hadn't put them in danger. Clementine did. That idiot was the one that declared war on an unbeatable enemy when all she had were scared kids. In two weeks, that arrogant lunatic had managed to make a bad situation into the worst case scenario through her own self-assured incompetence.

Before her mental rant could continue any further, the door slammed open and the familiar sight of Ruby's simultaneously concerned and annoyed face came into view. The doctor huffed as she approached. “Damn it, Minnie…” . She placed one arm under the injured girl's legs and the other at the base of her neck. After a muttered count to three, the doctor lifted and gently set her back on the bed. “I patched you up less than an hour ago, and yer already bloodying yerself up again. Guess some things never change, a'least. Do us both a favor and just stay in bed this time, alright?” The doctor berated. Minerva rolled her eyes in annoyance but didn't try to resist the doctor's manhandling.

“I'll try not to get shot again.”

Her friend's small, soft eyes darkened considerably at the girl's tone even as she brought out the sutchering kit. “Damn right ya will. Me? Ah'd be on my best behavior right about now. Otherwise, you might just end up with another hole in ya 'fore the day is through,” Ruby warned icily as the first stitch went in. Minerva's eyes widened in surprise, looking at the usually kind hearted medic. The other ginger's gaze was at once sympathetic and detesting, not unlike the look Louis had given her earlier that day. She focused intensely on Minerva's still-bleeding wound, refusing to look up at her patient. A small hiss escaped her as the needle punctured a little too deeply into her, finally getting a glance from her former friend. They locked eyes for a moment, and then she understood: Ruby knew. Minerva looked away, shame gnawing at her. Of course they told her. Why wouldn't they? She and Sophie were inseparable, of course people's first question would be where her twin was. The stitching finally came to an end, a fresh set of bandages soon after being wrapped tightly around the bullet hole. A sigh escaped the southerner as she continued. “... Hell, y'know Ah don't really mean that. Just… lordy, Min. How could you?”

Minerva closed her eyes, biting her tongue hard enough to taste copper. They'd never understand. Even if Sophie could explain it to them herself they still wouldn't get it. Why even bother trying? It's not like she'd come back if Minerva just wished it hard enough. Clearly unsatisfied with the silence but unwilling to push it further, Ruby stood up. A clinical detachment took over her tone like she was reading off a phone book. “Couple hours, Ah'll be back with ‘another dose a antibiotics. You'll take'em with lunch. Keep hydrated or you'll pass out 'gain an’ Ah'll haveta set up an IV. You play nice, Ah'll give Tenn and Vi the okay to visit. Understand?”

Tenn. Her heart seized just hearing the name. Her sweet, innocent little brother… god, it'd been far too long. She'd almost forgotten what he sounded like, though his unmistakable grinning face was forever burned into her mind. This was _real_. She'd actually see her little Tennessee again. She couldn't find the courage to face Ruby as she began walking away, but did speak up. All bitterness and sarcasm gone from her voice, she softly asked, “Is he alright?”

The footsteps came to a stop. Minerva could feel Ruby's eyes on her, but remained firmly fixated on the wall. “The poor fella's worried sick 'bout ya, but he's fine otherwise. Last Ah saw, he an’ AJ were on watch duty,” She replied, putting Minnie at ease. A few more seconds passed, but the school's doctor still hadn't moved. In a quiet voice, she confessed. “Ah know you, me, and Sophie weren't ever the closest a'friends, but Ah considered you friends all th’same. Ah know Tenn looked up to y'all like stars in the sky… an’ how much it'd hurt him if he knew. We didn't tell him about what you did. Consider this the last favor a'days gone by.”

With that, the medic walked out of the nurse's office, leaving Minerva alone. Alone. Once upon a time, that word terrified her. It'd been such an alien concept to the girl that had grown up with one sibling or the other at her side practically at all times. The redhead let her head hit the pillow as she stared blankly at the yellowish-green wall. She'd had almost a year to get over this, yet it never went away. Not fully. Maybe the idea of seeing Tenn again had made it worse, but Christ, the loneliness was absolutely crushing. It was just as well. She deserved it, after all. She murdered her own sister. She tried to kill a scared teenager for daring to save her friends from a life of slavery. She was a monster.

She should have died on that boat.

A soft humming reached her ears, a lovely, happy little sound moving to a familiar tune. She clenched her eyes shut, teeth gritting. The humming turned to quiet singing. “The sun will be rising soon, oh, the sun will be rising sooon~” The phantom voice singsonged out. Minerva's heart ached. The singing stopped, an excited giggle taking its place. “Hey, Minnie! Check it out!”

“You're dead. This isn't real.”

“No need to be a Debbie Downer about it,” Sophie replied, seemingly unphased by the harsh reality of her situation. “Leprechauns aren't real, but that didn't keep us from trying to find one! Come on, I wanna show you something!”

“I didn't murder any leprechauns. That's the difference.” The tortured teenager groused. It was hardly the first time her past had literally come to haunt her, but at least there was usually some task or operation for the Delta she could busy herself with. Trapped in bed, the only thing to focus on was Sophie. God, talking to her dead sister. She really had lost it, hadn't she?

“We both know it wasn't like that. Come on.”

“Yes, it was. Go away.” Minerva hissed through gritted teeth. Silence reigned for a brief time, making her think maybe her subconscious had been merciful enough to spare her any more of it.

“Please, Minnie? Just this once?” The ghost of her sister pleaded, the excitement replaced by a heartbreaking fragileness. Minerva cringed, trying and failing to ignore the ache that put in her soul… to hell with it. Sophie'd be here to haunt her whether she played along or not. Might as well make one version of the girl happy.

“Fine, Soph, you win. What is it?” She lamely asked. She turned to find her twin lighting up with joy. The girl grinned widely and ran to the open window, pointing out of it.

“C'mere!”

Minerva looked at her abdomen, thick wraps of gauze hiding the no doubt angry red and purple gunshot wound underneath. A quick glance at Sophie showed the girl practically bouncing on her toes in excitement. Not having much to lose, Minnie pushed herself up and slowly lowered her feet to the ground, testingly applying pressure on her bare feet. With a deep breath, she moved off the bed. One step. Two steps. Four. She managed to get eight steps in before her gut ached once more, forcing her to grab a counter to keep from collapsing again. It hurt like a bitch, but she'd gotten this far. No point in giving up now. Taking a moment to steady herself, she moved along the counter to the window Sophie was staring out of. She looked outside and-

Tennessee. Her beloved little brother was happily chatting away with Clementine's kid on the watch post. His scars both old and new were hardly noticeable amidst the warm smile on his face. He had gotten so much taller in just the year she'd been gone. Minerva let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, tears pricking at her eyes as she saw her last remaining family. Sophie leaned against the glass, a face of contentment clear in the corner of her vision. “You're really back, Minnie. We're finally here.”

***

Colorful autumn treelines sped by as the car cruised along the road, the quiet hum of the engine serving as the soundtrack to the peaceful scene. Clementine stared out at the orange forest distractedly from the passenger seat. A frown adorned the troubled survivor's face, lost in thought. Trying to process all this was impossible on her own, but was hardly something she wanted Lee to witness. Fortunately for her, she knew someone else that could help. The driver's seat creaked next to her, but she kept facing out the window. After a few more moments of silence, a man spoke. “Kinda surprised you're having me drive. Seeing you behind the wheel, well, that was some of the happiest I ever saw ya.” Kenny said with a hint of pride in his voice. A bittersweet smile came to Clementine's face, though she didn't turn to face him.

“I liked driving.” She agreed, before her smile began to fade. “I was hoping I could teach AJ, someday. I guess that's never happening now.”

A beat passed without an answer, prompting her to continue. “There's so much I can't do with him now. So much I can't do _for_ him. He was already growing up too fast, and now I can't even do the hard work anymore.”

Clementine felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “Alvie's a strong kid, y'know. You did a good job. Better than I ever coulda asked for. You raised him right, and made sure he'd be ready to take charge. He'll take the bull by the horns on this. 'Sides, you ain't alone no more. You've got friends, Clem, good ones. You can rely on'em. AJ can, too. Ya got a family now.”

The girl turned to him, his loving gaze focused on her. “Family…” she repeated. God, the word felt so alien. Family. Was that what the Ericson's kids had become to her? Why she was so afraid of getting them killed, but equally terrified of driving them away? It'd only been two weeks, but… two weeks was enough for her to fall in love. Even if she weren't blind, it was impossible to think of a life she didn't want to spend with her new friends in a place she could finally call home. “... It feels a little weird, but it's good. You're right, Kenny. Maybe… maybe I don't have to be in charge anymore.”

“I know I'm no Lee, but I'm real glad to hear you say that, Clementine.” The bearded Floridian spoke softly. Clementine smiled as she looked back out the window. The orange and red leaves everywhere reminded her of her old leaf rubbings. Actually… hey. That was something she could teach AJ still. The silence continued for about a minute before Kenny talked once more. “That girl treatin’ you right?”

She shuffled in her seat. “I wasn't sure what you'd think about her, or us being together, but she's the best, Kenny. Everything feels so much better when she's around.” Clem confessed, glancing at her dear friend and caretaker.

“In that case, I'm all for it. Long as she makes you happy, I can deal with it. Hell, if I'm bein’ honest, I'm glad you got with her and not young Will Smith. He'd've annoyed the shit outta me.”

Clem laughed, Kenny's own jovial rumbling joining soon after. She could totally imagine Louis making getting a laugh out of the former fisherman into a personal challenge, no doubt exasperating him in the process. Maybe he could even get her and AJ in on it. Happiness filled her heart for the first time in days as she pictured the scene. When she finally got her breath back and the laughter died down, she simply sat there, enjoying his company. Unfortunately, all good things came to an end.

The car began to slow down as they took a turn. To her surprise, Ericson's stood before them in all its rundown, graffiti-covered glory. The car finally came to a stop at the gate, Kenny closing his eye before speaking. “Well… this is your stop, Clem. They're waiting for you.”

Clementine hesitated. If she went now, then it was back to the real world. Back to blindness and emotional instability. But… it was also back to AJ, and Violet, and Louis and everyone else… back to her family. Tears pricked at her eyes as she turned to Kenny, but she refused to let them fall. The girl leaned towards him and brought him into a hug. “I miss you so much…” She whispered as she rested her head on his shoulders.

His strong hands held her just as tightly while his beard tickled at her neck. “I do too, hun. I want you to know you an’ AJ were the best thing to happen to me in all this, and don't you ever forget that, all right?” Kenny struggled to hide his emotions as he went on.

“I promise I won't.”

“Good…. good. It's time to be there for them, Clementine. I know you'll do great.”

She closed her eyes with a shuddering breath. “Goodbye, Kenny…”

Her eyes opened once more, but the darkness remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we introduce the fourth and final protagonist, Minerva! Now, having four different perspectives a chapter would frankly be incredibly obnoxious to write and even more so to read, so this isn't going to be a regular thing. Chapters from here on out will generally only have one or two perspectives, though it can be any combination of the four protags.
> 
> BTW, I want you guys to know the Kenny scene fucking destroyed me to write. 7+ years of writing fics, and this was the first time I ever got genuinely emotional writing a scene. Kenny and Clem's bond is honestly my favorite in the entire series.


	9. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine tries to deal with her newfound limitations. Meanwhile, Minerva struggles with the mistakes of her past and present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another week, another update! I'm hoping to consistently hit an,update every Tuesday, but I can't quite say for sure. Still, enjoy!

_“Must be nice, bein’ a little girl._

_Nobody expects you t'do a damn thing.”_

Uselessness. If there was a feeling Clementine hated more than anything, it was uselessness. Anger, sadness, exhaustion, pain, all of those could still be used towards something positive. But feeling like a leech, an absolute burden, and having no way of changing it? There couldn't be a more revolting sensation to her mind.

And yet, it was exactly how she was beginning to feel. Ten days had passed since they returned from the boat and for ten days she had done nothing. It became quickly apparent that her condition ruled her out of most of the school's chores by default. A watchman without eyes hardly needed explaining. Hunting and fishing required her to see what she was aiming at. Scouting wouldn't do much good if the best she could do was describe the general shape of things. She was physically incapable of earning her keep. It reminded her far too much of how she was at the Motor Inn, the once fond memories tainted by the guilt of Lee's death.

Admittedly, it's not like everything had been awful since getting back. Rosie had been overjoyed to have her back, practically tackling the girl and giving her a barrage of happy licks when the dog followed her scent back to her room. Louis held true to his word and began teaching AJ the piano, her son slowly but enthusiastically learning the ins and outs of the instrument. Listening in on their sessions always improved her mood considerably. Louis was a surprisingly good teacher, patient and encouraging no matter how many times the kid made mistakes. She would have rolled her eyes if she could when she realized the first song he was teaching him was 'Oh My Darling’, but AJ's joy more than made up for the cheesy joke. Much to her surprise, James had joined the group, at least partially. The former whisperer would drop in from time to time, Omar even managing to convince him to stay for dinner the night previous night. The other students had done their best to help as well, dropping by for visits and such between shifts. Violet would come by in the evenings. She still wasn't entirely sure where exactly her relationship with the blonde was at after all that's happened, but their leader was still there for Clem whenever she needed her. Long talks, caring holds, even just being in the room, Violet did it without hesitation. One thing was for certain: Clementine still loved her, and desperately hoped she did too. Their and AJ's efforts kept her newfound self-doubt at bay most days which she was grateful for, but the few times she was alone, it would haunt her like a ghost.

This was one of those times. Nothing to do, Clementine laid in her bed, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. Muffled conversations and the occasional chirping of birds were the only noises disturbing the otherwise dead silence in the room. A part of her thought about going outside and joining them, but she cast it aside. They were busy. Too busy to chaperone her all day. Violet would probably tell her that was bullshit, but the fact is it was the truth. If she wasn't helping, then she was just another part of the chore. No point in making things more difficult while they figured out some way for her to help. Besides, it's not like she was completely alone. Rosie had taken to following her just about everywhere these days, currently resting under her bed. Maybe the pup could tell she was blind and wanted to guard her? She couldn't couldn't say for sure, but the company was appreciated all the same. Suddenly, a set of knocks rumbled from the door and pulled the girl from her grim thoughts. “Clem? Mind if Ah come in?”

Oh, right. She was due another checkup today. “Come in,” She replied as she moved her feet off the bed. The door opened softly and was soon replaced by the sound of wheels rolling over the old, slightly uneven floorboards. Supplies, presumably. She flashed a smile at the doctor and hoped her previous moroseness hadn't shown on her face. “Hey, Ruby.”

“Howdy, Clem. This'll be quick, Ah swear. Just wanna make sure everything's healin’ alright. That okay?” The group medic asked. Clem gave a nod and took a breath. Moments later, the blindfold was off once more. It was an unsettling feeling even after this long, but she could bear it. Ruby had thankfully grown more accustomed to the sight Clem's injury and so avoided any repeats of that incident at the shack. She could feel the redhead's scrutinizing gaze, no doubt checking for any signs of infection or dehiscence. She couldn't help but squirm a little. As the minutes passed by, Clementine couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her for nearly two weeks now.

“How bad does it look?”

“Huh?”

“My eyes… eye, actually. How bad does it look?” She repeated. After a few seconds of silence, she clarified. “You don't have to sugarcoat it. Just tell me how they look. Please.”

“... Yer socket looks a lot better now that th’blood's cleaned off. The eye, though… it's still pretty red. Probably will be fer a long time,” Ruby confessed hesitantly. Clem nodded as the medic carefully draped the fabric over her wound once more and tied it off. “The good news is there ain't any complications with the wound healin’. Now, how're _you_ doin’, Clem?”

Clementine faked a small smile. “I'm alright. Been better lately.” She lied. Hopefully it didn't sound as false to Ruby as it did to her.

“That so? Well, Ah'm real glad to hear that, Clem!” The redhead said. Clem's smile became a little more genuine. Good, she fell for it.

“Thanks for stopping by, Ruby. It helps.”

“Sure thing, hun. It's just a little peculiar is all, cuz that don't match up with what Violet said about you feeling down.”

Clementine flinched, looking up at the voice. “She told you?” She asked, feeling a little bit betrayed by this revelation.

“Nah, but you just did,” Ruby admitted with clear concern. Clem's brows widened in surprise before narrowing in a mix of annoyance and slight admiration of the clever trick. Ruby gently took her hand as she spoke again. “It's alright ta be honest 'bout it, Clem. 'Sides, horse is outta th’ barn at this point. Ah can help ya if you tell me what's going on.”

Clementine looked downwards, thinking about it. Well, fuck. So much for keeping them from worrying. Kinda figures Ruby would be the one to figure it out. The doctor always did have a good eye for details after all. Her little secret revealed, Clem considered admitting to it. They both knew at this point for better or worse. The only question was if she'd say it outright or make the doctor worry further. “... Okay. It's just… I knew from the moment I woke up seeing black that I wouldn't ever be able to do what I used to. But… actually being back here, using supplies and just bumming around the school, I feel like dead weight. I'm taking from my friends even though I can't help. I just wish I could still be useful to you guys.” Clementine spoke honestly. It felt marginally better to admit, but the weight remained heavy on her shoulders.

“Aw, Clem, it ain't like that at'all. Yer the reason we're even here t'be havin’ this conversation. If you hadn't come back, all a'us would be in th’ ground or wishin’ we were right about now. Bein’ there for ya is th'least we could do after all you went through fer us!” The redhead insisted. Clem shook her head.

“Maybe right now, but what about when the food goes low again? You can't afford someone who isn't working then.” She apathetically pointed out.

“Clem, d'ya honestly think Tenn does a whole lotta work 'round th’ school?” Ruby asked, stunning Clem a little. In truth, she hadn't really noticed it until Ruby pointed it out, but the boy didn't actually have any chores that she could remember other than occasionally guarding the gate. “Ah know you wanna feel like yer pullin’ yer own, but this ain't some survival o’the fittest contest. We're more'n happy ta help you cuz yer our friend. Don't you forget that now, y'here?”

Clementine wasn't sure what to say. She simply sat there in thoughtful silence, ruminating on what the doctor was saying. Her tone made it clear that this wasn't just some feel-good nothingness, but the girl's genuine opinion. It was frankly jarring compared to how her life has been for the last six years. Whether it was the New Frontier or just being out on the road, if you didn't work, you died. It'd become such a natural thing to her that this idea of simply living felt so foreign to the seventeen year old. “... I won't, Ruby. To be honest though, just sitting around after all these years doesn't feel right. Is there anything you think I could do? Even something small?”

She heard a soft hum come from the girl. A few moments later, an excited 'aha!’ rang out. “Actually, now that Ah think 'bout it, there might be. Ah'll show ya!” Ruby excitedly announced. Clem got to her feet and followed her friend's footsteps, curiosity and some excitement of her own bubbling in her. Maybe she could finally get this off of her mind.

***

The smell of fertilizer and ripening plants  immediately revealed Ruby's grand idea. Clementine hadn't been in the greenhouse since the day she cleared it out with Mitch and the woman leading the way, but clearly her efforts had paid off. It was abundantly clear without even seeing that their garden was a lot fuller than it had been back then just by breathing in the life flourishing around her. “Have you been doing this all by yourself?” She asked in astonishment, feeling what she was fairly sure was the top of a carrot. She couldn't remember ever seeing anyone else come in over the two weeks they were preparing for the attack.

“Just about,” Ruby replied contently as the pair kept moving through the rows of plants. “Mitch'd drop by time ta time, but he never really had the patience fer this sorta thing. Vi's been gettin’ on me 'bout gettin’ this place up'n'runnin’ again, an’ if yer really fixin’ fer a job, Ah think this is the best bet. You ever done any gardenin’ before?”

Clem thought back to that day at Carver's camp, helping Sarah pick berries. “Once. A guy with one arm taught me a little bit about it. I liked it… until he got thrown off a roof by the guy in charge because we didn't pick enough berries.”

She could practically see the look of shock on Ruby's face. “W-well, Ah can promise ya nobody's getting thrown off a roof t'day. Uh… how's about we start with tomatoes?” The girl offered, leading Clem to what was likely a large gathering of vines. She gently guided the blind girl's hand to one of the fruits. “Get a good feel a'that. Describe it.” She instructed with a hint of intrigue.

“It's light,” Clem noted, softly bouncing it in the palm of her hand. She testingly applied pressure onto it. “Pretty solid, though. Probably not ready yet.”

“Right!” Ruby praised. “These've still got two weeks. Try this one.”

Clem could immediately tell a difference, this one being a touch heavier in her grasp and feeling significantly softer as well. It didn't smell rotten, so that was a good sign. “This one's good to go.”

“Go ahead an’ pick it, then. First a'many. Consider it yers.”

Clem smiled as she pulled the tomato off the stem. “What do you think, use it for food or Louis repellent?” She joked as she slipped it into her jacket pocket, making the country medic giggle.

“He'd prolly take it as encouragement. Nah, you wanna really mess with'em? We grow some cantaloupe an’ throw that at'em.”

The blind girl smirked at the idea as she continued testing out various tomatoes from the vines. It felt good having something to do, even if this was basically just an orientation for it. After multiple successful tests, Ruby gave her the go-ahead to harvest anything that felt ripe while she tended to the other plants. Responsibility. It was funny to think she missed it, but for the first time since their escape, she felt focused. Ripe, raw, raw, ripe, gross as hell and subsequently scrapped, ripe… huh. Apparently she liked gardening. Would've been nice to know before she went blind, but hey, hindsight is 20/20. She internally groaned as she realized her own joke. Clearly she was hanging around Louis too long if her jokes were becoming that bad.

Clem lost herself in thought as she harvested what would likely be the school's next dinner.

Despite her jokes about him, Clementine couldn't deny that he'd really impressed her over the past several days. Seemingly out of nowhere, the day after they got back, Violet suddenly announced that he was in charge when she was busy. Aasim practically had a heart attack until Violet pointed out Louis was actually the one who put the rescue plan together. That much had caught Clem off guard. She'd figured the whole thing was Violet's idea until that moment. That banished whatever doubts she may have had about him. If he could put something like that together, he wouldn't be a bad choice for a leader. Thankfully, nothing especially demanding had come up since their escape, so they hadn't really needed to actually see him in action. Still, he spent about as much time in the office as Violet, so clearly something was being done.

Her thoughts briefly drifted to Minerva, but she flatly refused to let that evil bitch plague her mind. Almost a full week had passed without that unnatural anger bothering her, and she sure as hell wouldn't let it ruin her good mood now. She focused instead on the plants she was handling. It was kind of funny, actually. She'd hated tomatoes when she was a kid, and now here she was helping grow them. They were a hell of a lot better than decade-old beans, at least.

“How's it comin’, Clem?”

“Hm? Oh, hey Ruby,” She greeted. “Good, I think. Pretty sure I got everything...” The former leader replied. She stepped aside for the local botanist to get a better look of the plants. A few moments later, an affirmative hum came from her redheaded pal.

“Lookin’ mighty fine!” She boasted, drawing a proud grin from Clementine. “Alright, Ah think that should be good fer today. Ah saw AJ on his way over to th’ music room, if ya wanna catch up with'em.”

“It's four already?” Clem asked in surprise. It felt like maybe half an hour, certainly not two. Seems her thoughts really kept her occupied.

“Yep. Ah'll be finishin’ up pretty soon here muhself. How 'bout tomorra mornin’ Ah show ya somore of the place?” Ruby offered.

Clem nodded, contentment warming her heart. _Finally_. Her arms were a little sore, but it was welcome. “Thank you, Ruby. I don't think I can tell you how much I appreciate this.” She spoke gratefully, smiling softly at the doctor who had given her this chance.

“O'course, Clementine! Glad t'help.”

She left the greenhouse in better spirits than she had felt in weeks. This would work out after all.

***

Even over a week since returning to the school, it still didn't seem real to Minerva. Of course, considering she'd hallucinate her dead sister from time to time, that was hardly surprising. Every day she woke up expecting to find herself in her bunk aboard the Fitzgerald, and yet it never came true. No, instead, a thoroughly irritable medic and Ms. Martin's obnoxiously positive decorations were a daily sight. Also familiar now was her slowly healing gunshot wound. The once semi-hourly bandage changings were now daily at most, presumably a good sign. The former raider was still bedridden at Ruby's strict orders. She'd even threatened to restrain Minerva after she caught her walking around the nurse's office on the fourth day. Well, the threat was subsequently followed through the day after. Thus was her current predicament: tied to a bed and having absolutely fuck all to do but stare at the ceiling and think until Ruby came back for another incredibly tense checkup.

To her surprise, Minerva hadn't seen the country girl in quite some time. Ruby spat something about Clementine at her before she left, so whatever was going on with the stray must've been important enough for the doctor to break her routine. She momentarily wondered if Clementine had gotten worse, sympathy and regret tugging at her mind, but she forced it out immediately. No. It was her or Clem. Better for it to be the latter.

The door creaked. A tiny, little noise that most would probably have missed, but it got Minerva's attention instantly. It ever so slowly opened before a tall man stepped through. Another unfamiliar face, though he reminded her of Mitch in a way. She watched him suspiciously as he entered. He carried himself carefully, barely making any noise as he walked. Finally, he seemed to notice that she was awake, their eyes locked.

“... H-hello…” He quietly greeted. She studied him without a reply. After a moment, he continued. “Your friend asked me to help you. My name is… James.”

His hesitation caught her notice. Like he wasn't used to hearing his name, let alone saying it. Combined with his quiet mannerisms, Minerva's suspicion only increased. Her eyes narrowed at the man who could only have been a year or two older than herself. Surprisingly, he held firm under her harsh gaze. Clearly his taciturn nature wasn't born of shyness. Something about him was setting off just about every alarm she'd developed over the past year even despite his passiveness. Seeming to sense her distrust, he slowly raised his hands. “I won't harm you. I want to help,” He said as he took a step towards her. His voice was genuine, but looking at his hands, she realized exactly what was unsettling about him. Her suspicion turned to fury and fear.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” She shouted as she tugged on her restraints. The surprise on his face only added to her disdain. “I know what you people do. What the hell are they thinking, trusting a whisperer?!”

The surprise on his face shifted to reserved shame. “I see… you've encountered my former people before. I'm sorry if I've brought back unpleasant memories. Their crimes were many, I know. There is a reason I left them.” He insisted, no longer approaching. She wished looks could kill, because from what she knew of the Whisperers, he definitely deserved to die. She'd mercifully never had the misfortune of encountering one in the flesh, but Lily's stories of them were enough to paint a picture she wished she could unsee. Remorseless murderers and rapists that swarmed communities with walkers and butchered whoever was left, and now she was trapped in a room with one of them.

The two sat in tense silence, Minerva unable to flee and James unwilling to approach. Minutes passed without any progress. A dull ache throbbed from her injury, but she refused to take her eyes off the threat. The whisperer's face morphed into one of concern. “You're bleeding.”

“And you will be too if you take another goddamn step,” She growled. Despite her threat, he cautiously towards her, fear threatening to overtake the raider. “No! Stay back!” Minerva demanded angrily. He stopped at arm's length, silently pulling something out from his pocket. He held a small plastic bag.

“Look. Please.”

Her eyes glanced at it. Contained inside was a worn photograph of a much younger version of its owner and another boy. Confusion briefly overcame the terror building in her. “What the fuck is this supposed to mean?”

“His name was Charlie. He is… was, my boyfriend,” James explained, sounding bittersweet. Minerva searched his expression for any hint of deception, but there was only slightly pained look of regret. “We joined the Whisperers together.”

Her resentful glare remained. “Your point?” She gruffed out. His gaze didn’t flash with irritation as expected, but rather… pity. That threw her off considerably.

“Joining the Whisperers changed us. We witnessed a lot of death and suffering. Eventually, we became the cause of it…” He trailed off, looking her in the eyes. “Ruby told me… about you, and your sister. I-”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Minerva hissed at him. Disgust boiled in her as she realized what he was trying to do. “You don’t know anything about what it’s like!”

“I know what it feels like to regret taking a life more than anything else. To leave the ones you thought would protect you. I cannot pretend to know everything you've done or why, but I know how to leave it behind. I can teach you how.” The formerer whisperer quietly confessed. His voice carried a weight of understanding that only served to further infuriate her.

“You think that just because you killed someone we’re the same?! You have no idea what it felt like! The Delta gave us _everything_ . We could have had a life there if she-” Minerva stopped herself, biting down on her tongue. Her eyes were wet, but the desolation she felt was quickly replaced by hatred as she looked at James. “You are _nothing_ like me.”

He looked away, an apologetic expression taking over his features. “I'm sorry. I should not have been so presumptuous. I… I won't bother you further. Ruby will be here soon.” The young man spoke shamefully before hesitantly leaving the room. Her hateful gaze followed him every step of the way and lingered on the door long after he was gone. After a couple minutes, her fury resigned into old regret.

“He just wanted to help, you know.” Sophie mumbled. Minerva glanced at the phantom, a small, worried frown on her sister's face. Minerva looked away with a scowl.

“I don't need him or his _help_ ,” She spat the word out, tasting foul on her tongue. “Or any of their help.”

“I didn't know you were a doctor.”

“What?”

Minerva looked to the imaginary being in confusion and followed her gaze to the small, dark red blotch forming under her gauze. Her frown expanded. Christ, even her subconscious was making fun of her. “They don't know what we had to go through. Not him. Not Louis. None of them. They couldn't help even if they actually wanted to.”

“Then why not just tell them then?” Sophie asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Minerva rolled her eyes.

“You're dead. I'm not. They don't want to hear why.”

Sophie sighed as she slumped into Ruby's chair, resting her head in her chin. “You won't know until you try it. I mean, right now, they definitely hate you.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“Hey, don't blame me, they're your thoughts. Anyway, you're completely sure they hate you now, and you're only pretty sure they'll hate you if you tell them. Doesn't that mean that it'll be better to tell them in case they hate you less?” The deceased twin asked pointedly. Minerva didn't answer, turning away. Silence reigned over the small room. The door swung open as Ruby marched in already looking pissed off.

“Y'know, Ah was havin’ a real nice day t'day. Woke up feelin’ good, got breakfast while it was hot, managed t'make Clementine smile fer once -thanks for that again, by the way-,” She hissed the aside out as she put her hands on her hips and glared disapprovingly at the former raider. “And then all a'th’ sudden James comes runnin’ for me lookin’ like he kicked a puppy and says ya managed to split yer stitches _again_. What the hell did you say ta that boy to make him so anxious?” Ruby demanded. Minerva kept quiet. After all, she didn't have an explanation, and even if she did she didn't owe it to her. The country medic scoffed in annoyance at the silence while her eyes narrowed. “Christ. Yer a real class act, y'know that, Minnie? Talkin’ a big game when it's someone too damn nice t'fight back.”

More silence. Fed up with the older redhead's attitude, Ruby begrudgingly went about redressing the wound without any further words. Minerva's eyes flicked back to Sophie, the apparition surprisingly still in the room. She looked a little bit worried, but it was easily buried behind the encouraging determination that soon replaced it. “You can do it, Minnie. You know I'd want you to. Just say it, okay?”

“... Ruby.”

“What?” The doctor grunted.

“... I need to talk to Violet.”

“An’ Ah need you to behave, so Ah guess neither of us are gettin’ what they want. Maybe ya shoulda thought about before bein’ a nuisance.” Ruby firmly denied. Minerva's gaze hardened.

“It's important.”

“So's my time, but ya don't seem t'mind wastin’ it by gettin’ yerself hurt. You ain't the only patient I got.”

A bit of desperosity leaked into Minnie's previously unemotional voice. “Please, Ruby. I-”

“Look!” The medic interrupted with a huff. “If it's so goddamn important, tell me and Ah'll pass it onto her. You're still in no shape t'be movin’ around, and after what you pulled with James, visits aren't a thing without me around. Understand?” Her voice left no room for argument, the look on her face practically daring Minerva to try anyway. The raider contemplated what she could do. The thought of simply dropping it came to her, but… no. She couldn't run forever. It's as good a day as any to stop.

“... Fine. It's about how Sophie died.”

Ruby's ire instantly swapped to surprise and grim intrigue soon after. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Keep goin’...”

***

The cascade of rain was deafening on the river, splashing water and rolling thunder drowning out everything else. Dark rain clouds blocked out the moonlight and bathed the river in darkness. It was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it meant the chances of anyone spotting their tiny little raft were pretty low. On the other, it also meant they could see absolutely nothing themselves. Even their lantern barely illuminated the seemingly endless darkness that surrounded them. Minerva's heart was racing even an hour after they'd stolen the raft. She still couldn't believe they'd actually done this, but the young survivalist refused to let her mind dwell on it. No going back now.

A hand brushed over her own, drawing her attention. A small smile adorned Sophie's face, a hint of worry simmering just behind it. She was always there to offer a shoulder, but never seemed to be willing to show her own doubts. “Hey... it'll be okay. Nevermind the darkness, right?” She said with an entirely inappropriate hopeful tone. Minerva felt a ghost of a smile tug at her lips despite the situation.

“You stole my line.”

“Can't help it, it's a good one.” Her sister quipped. The slightly older redhead rolled her eyes. Always waiting with a comeback. Sophie was probably the only one who could keep up with Louis’ motormouth. That same wit had earned her more than one black eye. Even now, bruises peppered the girl almost as much as freckles. Guilt filled Minerva, her smile fading from her face. She'd tried her best to protect her sister, but no matter what, Sophie always managed to piss someone off and would find herself paying for it harshly. All she'd have to do was play along, but she kept insisting on fucking around with them. Sophie's own face fell, almost as if she could read Minerva's thoughts. “I tried, Minnie, I really did. But you said it yourself, they're effing crazy.”

Minerva sighed as she leaned back against their box of stolen supplies. “You can swear, you know. Tenn's not gonna scold you for it.” She attempted to change the topic. A slight smirk came to Sophie.

“Nope, I promised him I'd stop. I'm not gonna show up to the school a pottymouth. You and Vi'll just have to cover for me,” She teased, grabbing an oar and gently pushing the raft along. A few minutes of silence passed before the girl spoke up again. “Minnie?”

“Yeah?”

“... Thanks. I know you were starting to like it there, but you still helped me out. Thank you.”

Minerva closed her eyes. As much as she wanted to kill Marlon for selling them out, she couldn't lie. Being at the Delta for even just a few months was better than years of scraping by at that fucking school. But… Sophie just didn't have it in her. She barely listened to Marlon back at Ericson's and she actually _liked_ him. Her sister was never one for authority or responsibility, much preferring to just hang out with Tenn and draw all day. Despite how much she had grown used to the Delta's ways, the day Sophie limped into their tent with a twisted ankle and split lip courtesy of their commander, she just couldn't bear to see her suffer anymore. Minnie opened her eyes once more, seeing Sophie's sympathetic expression. “Of course, Soph. What are sisters for?” She asked. The younger girl smiled, opening her mouth to speak until a damn near blinding light shined on them and the sound of gunfire screamed out over the storm, the raft immediately letting out a hiss of air and rapidly deflating beneath them. Her sister let out a startled scream as a particularly harsh pull of the current knocked her out of the raft to Minerva's horror. “SOPHIE!”

She hadn't even realized she'd leapt into the water until she was encompassed by cold, wet darkness. The river pulled her along like a ragdoll amidst the chaos of the storm, doing its best to drag her into the murky depths. Minerva struggled to keep her head above the water as she frantically searched for her sister. “SOPHIE! WHERE-” She slammed into an unseen rock, knocking the air out of her and causing water to slip into her lungs. She gasped and shuddered at the bitter cold that entered her body. Reathing for air, she continued. “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“-innie! I-I'm over here!” Sophie called out, barely audible over the deafening rain. A lightning strike briefly illuminated the river. For a split second, she could see her closest friend struggling to hold onto a fallen tree about twenty feet ahead. She desperately swam for it and just barely managed to latch onto a branch. The old timber let out a blood-chilling groan, but held firm under their weight. “MINNIE?!”

“I'm here! I'm here,” She replied, lungs and arms burning as the exhausted twin carefully pulled herself along the tree towards the voice. Sophie's terrified face soon came into view, relief washing over both of them for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Minerva shook her head. “We have to get out of here before they find us again! Follow me.” She instructed, repositioning herself to straddle their lifeline and crawl along the top. A quick glance back confirmed her sister was doing the same. The rain made it hard to get a solid grip, but the pair slowly made it across the tree and onto shore. She flopped on the dirt, her entire body aching, but the situation refused to let her rest. Lights danced through the treeline, incomprehensible yelling reaching her ears as she scrambled to her feet. “Shit. Stay close to me, Sophie, okay?”

They ran as far as they could as fast as they could, but it was futile. The Delta caught up to them in a matter of minutes. Weaponless and cornered, the twins were forced to surrender. The raiders forced them to walk for what felt like hours until they finally came to a clearing in the forest, the moon just barely peeking out past the clouds and bathing the area in a dim blue light. Six more armed soldiers were already waiting in a large circle, and in the center waited the woman of Minerva's nightmares.

Lily smiled as she saw the two twins being marched towards her. “I'm disappointed, girls. Did you really think this would work? The Delta can't be beaten. You should know what by now. Put them in position.” She ordered. The raider forcing her along shoved her to the left, the exhausted girl tripping and falling down. She could see the same thing was happening to Sophie on the opposite end of the circle, the younger girl glaring up at their former brothers in arms. Minerva pulled herself to her feet, trying to conceal her dread as she turned to face Lily.

“Commander, I can explain. Sophie and I were-”

“Trying to escape. If you just took the raft, we might not have realized it so quickly, but you got greedy. Did you really think we wouldn't notice an entire month's rations were gone?” She interrupted forcefully. Minerva's throat dried. Even if she could speak, she couldn't think of a convincing lie. Instead, she simply watched Lily closely at the woman that kidnapped them in the first place continued her lecture. “Regardless, you both know what the punishment for desertion is. I'd been hoping I wouldn't have to teach it to you personally, but you always liked doing things the hard way, don't you Sophie?”

“I'm sorry. Please, Minnie didn't have anything to do with it! It was all me, alright? I-”

“Shut. Up.” Lily growled, silencing the teenager. “Fortunately for you, I prefer a different kind of teaching than Greg or Wyatt do. Give them their weapons,” She ordered. Much to the twins’ surprise, the raiders tossed a pair of weapons at each of their feet. The lightning made the steel-plated pistol shine brightly in the darkness in front of Sophie while Minerva's crossbow sat already loaded before her. “Pick them up. Slowly. Try pointing it at any of us, and you'll be dead before you hit the ground…” Their commander continued, the twins hesitantly picking up the weapons. Minerva closely examined the crossbow. It had been her weapon of choice in training, disliking the obnoxious blaring guns made and preferring the versatility of it. She glanced up at Sophie, the girl pulling the slide on the pistol. Her attention quickly turned back to Lily. “Here's what's going to happen: right now, both of you are traitors to the Delta. However… if one of you were to kill the other, you'd be stopping a deserter. That would be enough for us to welcome you back with open arms.”

Minnie's eyes widened. “What? Lil- Commander, you can't be serious! This… this can be fixed!” She pleaded.

“I am, and it can't. Sorry isn't going to cut it this time. You abandoned us, both of you. One of you has to prove your loyalty,” Lily said casually, gesturing to them with her own pistol. “The one that doesn't, dies. Of course, if neither of you atone, we'll just have to kill both of you anyway. Your choice: kill your sister and come back a hero, or both die in vain. Either way suits me.”

“You… you wouldn't…” Sophie said, clearly shocked.

“Wanna bet on that? I promise you'll lose.” The brunette retorted with a daring, cruel smirk. The teenager looked on at her as shock shifted into pure disgust.

“You… you EVIL CUNT!” Sophie screamed, hatred soaking her usually upbeat voice. It was so unlike the girl that it was actually a little intimidating to Minnie. Minerva could see her shaking even in the poor lighting, but couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger. She thrust an accusing finger at their former commanding officer. “FUCK! YOU!”

Lily scoffed out a laugh. “About what I expected from a teenage fuckup like you. Don't you see? Anyone else would've just killed both of you. I'm giving one of you a chance. That's more than Marlon gave you,” She taunted, eyes narrowing at the pair. “But I'm running out of patience. I'm going to count from ten. If one of you isn't dead by the time I reach one, we'll make you wish you were. Ten.”

Minerva looked at the soldiers surrounding them, rifles ready and waiting. Her eyes flicked over to Sophie. She was still screaming at Lily, but the words seemed to blend together as her heart thumped in her ears. “Nine… eight… seven… six…” Lily continued, impatience bleeding into her tone. The crossbow felt heavier and heavier in Minerva's hands. This couldn't really be happening. This isn't how it was ending, was it? “Five. Four! Three!”

“Minnie?” Sophie softly called out. She looked over at her beloved sister. The girl was still shaking, but something seemed different. She could feel her gaze on her, heavy and uncertain. “I'm sorry.”

“Two!”

Sophie raised her pistol. Pure fear ran through Minerva. Before she even realize what was happening, she already felt the force of the crossbow firing. Minnie could do nothing but watch as the arrow embedded itself into Sophie's abdomen, her blood curdling scream piercing the night. Her sister fell to the ground, clutching the arrow in her with one hand. Oh dear god. She-she just shot her own sister. Minerva tossed the crossbow aside as she ran to Sophie, her stomach dropping with dread. She collapsed to her knees next to her bleeding sister. “No, fuck, no, please no! Sophie, I- fuck! FUCK! NO! NO!” The sororicidal raider howled out in despair. Her vision filled with tears as she looked down at her dying best friend.

“I-it's okay, Minnie. I wanted this.” Sophie whispered. Minerva's eyes widened.

“What? But you were…” Minerva's words died as Sophie shakily held up the pistol and pulled the trigger, a soft _click_ the only response. The younger twin pulled the gun's magazine and a single bullet out of her pocket with a bloodstained hand. A small, pained smile came over Sophie.

“See? Told you I was paying attention during training…” She managed with a small chuckle. Minerva's tears were falling freely now. Sophie took her hand. “It's okay, Minnie. You'll live. I… I can die happy with that…”

“Sophie… oh, god, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, no!” Minerva begged in vain, cradling the now very pale Sophie. Her crying was lost amongst the rain but it didn't stop her from sobbing.

“I love you, Minnie. I-” She shuddered, cringing. “Fuck, it's cold… oh, shoot. Guess I owe Tenn another crayon…” The girl chuckled briefly. “... tell him I love him, okay? That I'm sorry I yelled at him about missing his shift? He… he's a good kid. He needs to know I thought that.”

The eldest twin could feel herself shaking just like Sophie had been, barely able to nod with all the tremors in her body. “I… I will, Sophie. I promise.”

Her baby sister smiled peacefully, eyes looking up at her gratefully. “Thanks… Minnie…” She trailed off, breathing getting heavier. She closed her eyes. “Could… could you sing? I know it's dumb… but I really want to hear you sing one last time…” Sophie asked, voice barely a whisper.

“Nevermind the darkness,” Minerva shakily began, voice wet and a little hoarse. “Nevermind the storm. Nevermind the blood red moon… the night will be over soon… the night,” She choked a sob, trying her best to continue even as she felt the warmth fade from Sophie's hand. “will be over… soon…”

Her sister's ragged breathing came to a quiet stop, and with that, Minerva collapsed. Hysterical sobs and mutterings made the storm sound like a whisper in comparison. She didn't know how long she sat there hugging Sophie's limp body. Her baby sister was _dead_. No, not just dead. She fucking murdered her. Despair filled her very soul. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours, she couldn't tell. She wouldn't have cared even if she was able to tell. Regardless of how long it was, though, an outstretched hand ripped her from her mourning.

Minerva looked up to see Lily standing over her, an _almost_ sympathetic look on her face. The redhead's gaze turned into a hateful glare, a snarl coming over her before Lily spoke. “Whatever you're thinking, don't. She died so you could live. So you really want to throw that sacrifice away just for the _chance_ of killing me? If I were you, I'd take her words to heart,” The Commander spoke coolly, carefully measuring Minerva's reaction. The anger crumbled into loss, her gaze going back to the corpse of her only direct family. Sophie was willing to die for her. She… she couldn't be so wasteful, so selfish, as to not live for her final wishes. Giving one last look to her sister, Minerva slowly turned and accepted the raider's offer. “Come on, recruit. We're going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how this happened, but I guess Ruby's a main supporting character now. Fine by me, really. Writing in southern phonetics is a ton of fun, and IMO she's the best written of the background Ericson's cast other than Mitch. Hopefully you guys happen to like her too.
> 
> I'm kind of glad we never see Sophie in canon, because while it might be egotistical to say, I quite like my own version of her. She's a joy to write.
> 
> BTW, I'm massively behind on the comics, so I had to refresh myself on the Whisperers and holy fuck are they so much worse than I remembered. Frankly not that surprising that Lily had such a visceral reaction to James in hindsight.


	10. Casting Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Minerva's injuries now healed, the group finds itself at a crossroads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not a copy of The Definitive Series, but hopefully this still fulfills your weekly Telltale Walking Dead needs!

_“Ask not for who the bell tolls._

_The bell tolls for thee.”_

Herding stray cats was far easier and more enjoyable than getting her fellow students to follow a damn schedule, Violet had found. It was hardly even an exaggeration. At least cats wouldn't sit around and argue with her over stupid bullshit. Literally only two students in the entire school would just sit down, read the schedule and do it, and one of them couldn't read it on her own. Clem and Aasim were easy to deal with, but everyone else always had an issue. Even the more reasonable kids like Ruby and Omar tended to shirk certain tasks if they deemed something else more important. The day when Louis was the most punctual student was once a damn terrifying thought, but now it was reality. Every morning at eight he'd casually stroll through the office doors making some stupid joke and she'd lazily slide him a cup of coffee, courtesy of their new resident gardener. That had been the system for the past two weeks and she was happy to say it'd been working pretty well for the school.

Of course, that didn't mean working with Louis was always an easy task. He _still_ refused to acknowledge James as part of the group and consistently shot down any schedule that had the formerer whisperer's name on it much to her annoyance. As a result, on days that he was there, James would just be awkwardly going from student to student to see if they needed help. He also didn't seem to have an understanding of what the fuck winter was, because while she was scheduling out emergency ration days in case of shortages in the coming months, he was planning out when to put up Christmas decorations. He'd defend himself by pointing out the rapid success of the greenhouse, but the shortsightedness frustrated her to no end. Despite the annoyance, however, she was willing to admit he had a bit of a point. Maybe actually having fun shit happening consistently would be a good idea. It was something she was willing to consider so much that she'd even let him slip game nights into the lineup. Even with that, though, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she read over Louis’ proposed schedule for next week. “AJ, Clementine, and you for... Piano Duty?”

“Piano Duty.”

Violet stared at him with a questioning look, but he refused to relent. He didn't even seem particularly playful or jokey about it as he shrugged. “I mean, we were doing it everyday anyway. Figured I might as well make it official. Besides, maybe people will wanna see AJ play. We can get a whole recital set up one of these days!” The pianist happily proclaimed. Violet hid her slight smile by putting her face back down in the list of tasks. Everything else seemed reasonable, some happiness filling the blonde as she saw her girlfriend's name amongst the others. She'd been pretty worried about her before Ruby got the idea of splitting the greenhouse with Clem, the blind brunette seeming far more upbeat and talkative in the days since. She'd really have to thank Ruby when she got the chance. Almost seeming to read her thoughts, Louis piped up again. “You know, it kinda figures Clementine is good with plants.”

“What do you mean?”

“Clementine's a fruit too, so she can just ask them to grow. The miracles of being part citrus go really unappreciated these days.”

Her glare just makes him grin wider. She slid the paper back with a roll of her eyes. “Pencil in a night for you to actually be funny and it'll be good to go.” She fired back. She immediately regrets her words as he grabs a pencil and hastily scratches in 'COMEDY NIGHT’ for the following evening.

“You suggested it, not me. Officially your fault.”

“You're demoted.”

“Aw, damn. Guess I'll be on piano duty full time now.”

Violet hid a laugh behind a scoff. She rolled her eyes as she signed off on the schedule and slid it back to him, a thrilled grin reaching him as he realized she was actually going along with it. She propped her feet up on the desk with a small smirk. “Alright. Intake still doing okay?” She asked, receiving a confirming nod in return. “Good. Anything else we have to handle?”

Louis paused, rubbing the back of his head. “There is one thing, actually…” He revealed. She cocked an eyebrow that prompted him to continue. “James has been hanging out here a lot lately. Like, a lot a lot. So… what exactly are we gonna do?”

The question confused Violet completely. “Uh, what the hell do you mean?”

“I mean we have to figure out what we're gonna do with it him. I know we owe him for helping out with the raiders, but… if I'm being honest, Vi? He gives me bad vibes. I don't think we should trust him just yet.”

The blonde put her feet back on the floor as she sat up. “Louis, if it weren't for him, Clem, Omar, and Aasim might be dead by now. She vouched for him. If anything, we should be thinking about letting him in. You know, officially,” She countered. His face fell, the musician putting his hands on his hips in that pseudo-Marlon like way of his. “Lou, what exactly is your problem with him, anyway? You've been like this since day one with him, and I never got why.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Remember the day before the boat, when we had the party? How AJ told me he'd want Clem to bite him?” He asked, the girl slowly nodding. “He told me he thought of it because of what James said about walkers still being people deep down. That if he and Clem were both walkers, they'd be together forever…” Louis trailed off with a sigh. Violet's eyes widened, surprised and rather disturbed by the new context Louis gave to the already unsettling knowledge. She found herself speechless for the first time in weeks. He gave a nod as he quietly plopped into his own seat opposite of hers. “Yeah. Between that and making you go through that fucked up barn of his, he made a pretty bad first impression.”

“Shit… well, that makes you look like less of a dick looking back. Still, maybe actually having people around'll help James. I mean, do we even know how long he was out there alone? At least Clem had AJ to talk to.”

Louis shrugged despite looking rather unconvinced. “End of the day, I think it's something everyone should vote on. It's not like we'd be the only ones living with him. His friends are banned though.” He quipped. She gave a little hum of acknowledgement as her thoughts drifted to another uncertain member of their settlement. Two weeks Minerva had been back, and Violet had gotten to see her awake all of once. Ruby kept a stranglehold over who did and didn't get to visit Minerva. Up until just a few days ago, that allowance only applied to herself and sometimes James. Even Tenn only briefly got to see his long lost sister and she was unconscious for it. The redhead insisted it was so Minerva could get the necessary rest to heal properly, which Violet was willing to believe, but it was still worrisome all the same. Especially the day when Ruby came in to her office sniveling and puffy-eyed telling her she needed to come to the nurse's station. The blonde had been so afraid Minerva had died despite their efforts right up until she got to the door and saw Minerva quietly crying to herself. Then when she told her about Sophie… fuck. The whole thing was just so fucked. Louis pieced together where her mind had gone as his face fell and he slumped in his seat. “Still worried about her?”

Violet didn't respond, turning to see out the large window overlooking the courtyard. She shouldn't be thinking about this, not right now. The young leader tried to focus on making sure the group was doing as it should be. Midday sunlight bathed the school as the students went about their chores and shifts, Aasim watching the gate with Willie while Omar seemed to be using his break to hang out with Tenn, the young boy thoughtfully scribbling something at one of the now restored picnic tables. Aasim gave a greeting nod to someone, hopping down to the gate and opening it before AJ and Rosie strolled inside. The former carried a rather full looking bucket of fish in both hands while his pup happily panted beside him, giving the boy a lick and a bark before making her way towards the greenhouse. The sight brought some much welcome ease to her. To his credit, Louis didn't push the subject, opting to just let her have her moment of peace. Unfortunately for her, there was no rest for the wicked. A series of knocks sounded off, snapping her from her thoughts. “Yeah?”

Ruby quietly stepped in with an uncertain expression on her face. “Heya, guys… we need t'talk. It's about Minnie.”

Both leaders perked up at that, giving their country medic their full attention. Worry bubbled inside Violet as she asked, “Did something go wrong?”

Ruby shook her head. “No. Opposite, matter a'fact. She's just about completely healed. She's gonna have a pretty nasty scar, but other than that, she's good to go. So…” Ruby's uncertainty refocused itself into determination. “Ah think she should.”

“No.” Violet growled out instinctively. Both Ruby and Louis looked taken aback by her tone, but she didn't care. She fixed the pseudo doctor with a harsh look, but the sound of Louis clearing his throat distracted her from the other girl.

“Um… that's not really your call, Vi…”

“Bullshit it's not. Minnie's part of the group, I'm in charge of the group, so it's my call. We're not kicking her out.”

Ruby adopted a patient expression that grated on the blonde. “Not everyone thinks she should be part of it. That's th’ problem. Look, Ah'm just givin’ my own two cents here. Minnie ain't a doctor, but she ain't dumb. Pretty soon here, she'll realize she can get out, an’ Ah'm sure Ah don't hafta tell you why that'd be bad. We should vote on this, th’ sooner th’ better.”

Louis got to his feet, voice lacking his usual enthusiasm as he spoke. “She's right, Vi. The longer we sit on this, the more it's going to hurt. I'll tell everyone to meet up here.”

Violet looked away in annoyance, heart beating a little faster as an unsettling pressure made her entire body tense. She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes. Shit. Fuck. This… this wasn't supposed to be happening this soon… “Wait,” She ordered, catching his attention. “... Don't send the little kids in, okay? Just… ask them what they think, and that'll be their vote.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because we both know how AJ and Tenn are gonna vote, and I don't want it to get between them. Same with Willie.” She explained. The musician nodded and left without another word. Now alone with Ruby, Violet tried to come up with a way to convince the others to let Minerva stay.

***

It took almost half an hour for everyone to finally show up. The wait was torturous to her, with nothing to do but worry over what would happen if she couldn't convince enough people to keep Minerva. Omar was the first, Aasim joining him a few minutes later. After god knows how long, Louis finally walked through the door with Clementine and Rosie in tow. Louis passed by the desk and wordlessly dropped off a note of some sort, Vi picking it up and reading it.

**AJ - Out**

**Willie - Out**

**Tenn - Stay**

She glanced at him, somewhat curious as to why he didn't just say it, but decided to drop it the longer she looked at him. His expression made it clear he was likely dreading this as much as she was. Looking over everybody, she cleared her throat. “Alright, guys. Louis told you what we're doing here, right?”

Aasim nodded. “Yeah. It's important we handle it now.”

A scowl painted Clementine's features as she crossed her arms. “Why is this even up for a vote? She killed her own sister for the Delta. Even if she didn't-” She stopped suddenly. Violet could see her clenching her fists, her dear friend quietly letting out a breath before continuing. “... Do what she did to me, we couldn't trust her. I'm sorry, Violet, but whoever she used to be died a year ago.”

Violet frowned, a hint of anger being thoroughly suffocated by pity for Clem. This was actually far kinder than she expected, honestly. Still, she shook her head. “You didn't know her, Clem. I… they fucked with her head, but I know she's still in there. If she stays here, I can help her-”

“You can't help someone that don't want it, Vi,” Ruby interjected, sympathy in her voice. “An’ she's been fightin’ us every step a'th'way. Even if Minnie was still there deep down, it doesn't change th'fact that she's dangerous. Proof a'that is right here in this room.”

Violet glared at the redhead. This fucking hypocrite, pretending like she gave a shit about Clem now after sending her out to die not even a month prior. She might not be able to hold it against Clementine, but she absolutely would against her. Voice dripping with venom and sarcasm, she spat, “Gee, that sounds familiar, Ruby. Who else did you say that about?”

The room reacted immediately, alarm lighting up on practically every face. Louis’ eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. The only one who didn't look shocked by Violet's vicious taunt was Clementine herself, who looked at her evenly. She regretted the words almost immediately, but there was no taking them back now. The medic's eyes widened in surprise before darkening. She scoffed and returned the blonde's hard gaze. “Really now, Violet? That's a low blow, even fer you. The hell was the pointa that? Didja honestly think Ah never told Clem th' truth?”

Violet looked away shamefully. Fuck, what was wrong with her? How could she have possibly thought _that_ was a good thing to say? It seemed like she always said the exact worst thing she could every time something important was happening. Thankfully for her, Omar spoke up. “I think what Violet means is that we've been wrong about people before. Maybe we're being too hasty, you know? Maybe we should just try it for a couple weeks, see how it goes.” Their resident cook suggested. She nodded in agreement, but Aasim shook his head.

“And risk her betraying us again? We can't just run around free. But, by that same logic, sending her out is just as dangerous.”

Clem perked up at that. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, say we kick her out. What's to stop her from finding survivors from the boat and leading them back here? We killed a lot of her friends escaping them. Clem is one-hundred percent right when she says we can't trust Minerva, and that's why the safest bet is keeping her here under a tight watch.” The bookworm explained as he turned to her. Violet’s eyes shot daggers into him. She glanced to Clementine, the girl looking rather conflicted at his idea.

“I… Aasim's right, at least for now. It's the best compromise.” The chef conceded. Her harsh gaze turned to him, the young man turning away from her. Frustration bubbled inside of her. This was Minnie, god damn it! Their friend!

“She wouldn't do that.”

“Like she wouldn't hand us over to Lily?” Aasim countered, voice challenging as he stood up and pointed at her accusingly. “She worked with them for an entire year, Violet. Marlon was a monster for handing the twins over to them, but she did everything they asked. She killed Sophie for fuck's sake!”

“It was an accident!”

“No, it was a choice! Just because she made it not knowing the full story doesn't magically make it anything other than a murder!”

Fire filled her as she debated with Aasim. He was voting for Minerva to stay, sure, but… treating her like some sort of prisoner? Expected to live and work there without being one of them? How would that make them any different from the Delta? “They brainwashed her! What the fuck are you suggesting, Aasim?! Toss her in a cage?”

He matched her gaze defiantly. “Until we know for sure that she won't fuck us all over, yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting!”

“It's too dangerous,” Clementine suddenly said, grabbing everyone's attention. The blind brunette shook her head before readjusting her cap. “If we keep her here, she can still escape. If we managed to escape that ship, there's no way she won't be able to break out of any cell we put her in. When she does… whoever gets in her way will suffer for it. She has to go. We'll just have to lay low for a while, and if anyone comes, we make them regret it.” Their former leader announced decisively. If it weren't for the knowledge of what rested under that blindfold, it would be like the last two and a half weeks never happened. Part of her was thrilled to see Clem filled with such confidence again, but the words served to fuel her outrage. Maybe it was irrational to keep defending Minerva, but she'd be damned if she abandoned her again.

“... Sorry, Aasim, but Clem's right. We can't take th’ chance a'her gettin’ out and killin’ one of us. Best thing we can do fer everybody is send her ta the opposite side of the safe zone an’ give her a fightin’ chance on her own.”

Violet could hear her heart pounding in her ears as panic rose inside her. Four votes against Minnie, technically four votes for her… this was close. The only one,who hadn't voted yet was-

Louis.

_“God. Fucking. Damn. It.”_

Well, that was it. Violet stared blankly down at her desk. Just like that, she lost. Initially, all she felt was a cold wave of disappointment. Her breath shook a little as she looked up to Louis, the pianist having been uncharacteristically silent throughout the entire vote. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, one foot pressing into the aged wood. He stared down at the floor, but his body language made it clear he knew everyone was looking at him. After a moment, Clementine spoke, an odd mix of pity and relief carried in her voice. “Everyone's voted but you, Louis. It's time.”

He sighed, closing his eyes. “Yeah… yeah, I guess it is,” He whispered as he stood up straight. Violet couldn't bring herself to face Louis any longer, simply closing her eyes and waiting for the words that would damn her oldest friend. She'd lose her _yet again_ . She felt hollow as each second passed, despising him for dragging it out like this. Despite all her effort, the world was giving her one more stab in the back to join countless others. The unlikely leader of the group wanted nothing more than to hate them for it, but she couldn't even have the grim satisfaction of spite when all of them had very real reasons to ignore her pleas. Without someone to blame it on… that meant it was on her. Yet another person she's failed. “I…” Louis began, Violet clenching her fists beneath the desk. _“Here they come,”_ She thought sourly. “I agree with Aasim. She stays.”

Violet's eyes flew open as she stared in shock at Louis. He was so still that she thought for a moment that she'd imagined it, but the surprise on everyone's faces was proof it had actually happened. Thrilled relief electrified her body, completely erasing the nihilistic dread that had encompassed her just moments prior. Hardly able to believe it, Violet whispered out, “That… holy shit, that settles it. Five to four. She stays…” The blonde announced with a heavenly ease settling over her.

“As a prisoner. She's not getting away with everything.” Aasim firmly reminded. Violet was too amazed by the turn of events to care. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders after an entire year. A quiet voice broke her from her thoughts instantly.

“She's… she's staying...?”

Clementine… oh, god, Clementine. In her rush of relief, she had momentarily forgotten anyone else was there. The school's leader turned to her as her heart sank.

Clem's mouth was curled into a horrified cringe, the blind girl looking between the two of them in disbelief. Violet's good feeling instantly evaporated at the sight of her girlfriend in such distress. Cold dread consumed her as she watched Clementine's reaction progress. She could make out her remaining eye twitching under her blindfold, the almost scared look of despaired shock ever so slowly morphing into thinly veiled disgust. Clem wordlessly rose from her seat and walked to the door.

“Clem-”

“The vote's over, isn't it?” Clementine hissed out, not bothering to face her friends. Violet's planned bravado was quickly ripped to shreds by her girlfriend's icy tone. Upon not getting a response, she huffed out, “Then we're done here.”

Clementine deftly left the room, leaving them all in stunned silence. Rosie hung behind for only a moment, seeming torn between her people before ultimately deciding to follow her master. Violet took in a breath as she leaned back in the chair with her head in her hands. “Fuck… I-I’ll be back later. I need to talk to her.”

“Vi, I gotta be honest, I think that's the last thing you should do right now. I'll do it, you stay here.”

Violet glared at Louis. “Is she your girlfriend?”

He crossed his arms in response. “No, and that is exactly _why_ it should be me. If things go bad, it'll hurt a hell of a lot less from a friend than a sweetheart. Besides, you're better at this whole leadership and decision making thing. You figure out what we're doing with Minnie, I'll figure out Clem. Okay?” He argued, and damn it, he wasn't supposed to be the reasonable one between them. Her harsh look faltered, a regretful frown replacing it. She looked away with a small hiss.

“Shit. Just… don't fuck it up, alright?” The blonde requested with less confidence every word. He gave a solemn nod and quietly went after their mutual friend. She shook her head and returned her gaze to the remaining students. Ruby and Aasim were taking seats in front of the desk while Omar quietly slipped out of the room, clearly uncomfortable with the whole incident. “Fine. What is it going to take for you to let her stay?” Violet demanded. With that, the second meeting began.

***

An angry Clementine was a really frigging scary Clementine. Louis had known that from the first day they met, and that was when she was mildly annoyed. Now? Well, it wasn't 'gun down Minerva and have a fist fight with Violet’ levels of angry, but shit, he was _really_ not looking forward to this. He was staring at the door to Clem's room just as he'd been doing for the last five minutes as he tried to figure out what exactly to say to her. There was no easy way to apologize for being the sole reason her sworn nemesis was now expected to be neighbors with her after all. Of course… that was kind of what his apology gift was for. Louis carefully pulled a mostly full bottle of bourbon out of his coat pocket, feeling heavy in his hand. The last of the Headmaster's secret stash. After they blew through most of Ericson's booze within the first year or so, Marlon hid this old thing for special occasions or particularly sleepless nights. He smiled faintly as he remembered the last time he'd drank from it.

_“I thought you hated this shit.” Marlon said with a raised eyebrow, holding a full shot of the drink. Louis shrugged._

_“The flavor might not meet my exacting standards, but come on man, we're heroes! How many people would've fought off an army of walkers to save a pair of strangers?”_

_“I'd believe you more if you weren't checking Clem out every five seconds.”_

_“Hey, I would've been perfectly happy to save her even if she weren't drop-dead pretty!” The pianist shot back with a smirk, the pair clinking their glasses before downing the drink._

Louis’ smile faded as he slipped it back into his coat. Shit. Did Clem like bourbon? Did she even like to drink at all? He quietly groaned, resting his head against the door. God this was a dumb plan. Still, letting Clem stew in anger probably wasn't a good idea. He needed to do this now or never, more or less. Taking a breath, he knocked on the door. At first, there wasn't an answer. After a moment, however, he could hear movement inside the room, gentle footsteps soon approaching the door. It slid open with a creek as Clementine stood in the doorway. Her hat was off to reveal her rarely seen dark brown curls. More surprisingly, she stood without her blindfold on, her empty socket seeming to glare at him while the injured eye faced away from him shamefully. An uncharacteristically exasperated expression adorned her face while she looked straight ahead expectantly. Gulping a little, he spoke. “Hey, Clem. I-”

The door closed immediately. He blinked in incomprehension for a moment before a disappointed sigh escaped him. “Yeah, that's fair,” The musician muttered to himself before shaking his head and knocking again. “Clem? I totally get why you're pissed, but I just want to talk. Can we do that?” He called through the door. Silence. Feeling desperate, he half jokingly announced, “You can hit me if you want.”

A few seconds passed before the door slowly crept open. Louis closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable nut-punt of revenge she'd surely give to him, but it never came. Instead, Clementine's voice hit him. “I was counting on you, Louis. I thought even if Violet didn't have my back, at least you would. How could you be such a fucking coward?” She demanded, betrayal clear in her tone and a scowl on her face. He fidgeted, putting his hands on his hips as he tried to find the words. A beat passed without any words. Apparently he didn't do it fast enough for her as a bitter snear came over her. “I've got a joke for you, Louis,” She said in a voice holding anything but amusement. “Do you know why I want you to be one of my pallbearers? So you can let me down one last time.”

Fucking _ouch_. Louis cringed at the scornful remark that knocked out what little wind he had in his sails. The door began to close again before he quickly put his foot in the frame to stop it, “I… I just couldn't, Clem. I don't want her here, but I couldn't live with myself if I sent another friend to die out there. I already made that mistake once.” Louis confessed dejectedly. Clementine's expression slowly softened a little, but she didn't speak. The blind girl looked away with a sigh.

“A little warning would’ve been nice, at least. I really thought today would be the last time I ever had to think about her.”

“Honestly? I thought I was going to kick her out right up until Violet asked me to vote. I just got this gut feeling that it would be the wrong choice. I got something similar, back when we did your vote, but I ignored it and… well. You know how that turned out.”

An awkward quiet once again settled over the friends, neither quite sure what to say. Hints of anger still poked through, but above all else, his friend looked tired. Not just in the physical sense, but emotionally, mentally, just about every possible way for someone to be out of it. Grey circles were starting to form under her usually hidden eyes as the stress of the day caught up with her. Her shoulders slumped, the troubled teenager giving an exhausted sigh as she turned and walked back into the room, seemingly waiting for him. The door quietly slid to a close behind him while he pulled the chair from the desk and sat opposite of Clementine. “I'm still mad. Probably will be for a while. But… I know what it feels like to get caught between two friends.” She softly admitted. The girl shook her head with a frown. “What I don't get is why Violet's fighting me on this. How bad am I if she's siding with Minerva?”

Louis shook his head. “It's not like that, Clem.”

She scowled at him. “Then what is it like? Saving her on the boat was one thing, but letting her stay? Doesn't she have any idea what this feels like? Minerva took more from me than anyone realizes, and yet Vi still treats her like a girlfriend instead of the fucking traitor she is!” The girl demanded as her voice progressively raised. “So if she still loves someone like that and not me, I must be a hell of a lot worse.”

Louis stared at her in shock. Shit, did she really think Vi had given up on her? A hollowness filled the jokey leader as he realized just how much this vote meant to Clementine. “Clem… Jesus. Of course she loves you! She just… think of it from her perspective. You remember the first couple days you were here, when you talked about that kid you totally didn't have a crush on?” He questioned, Clem only raising a curious eyebrow. “Imagine if he showed up after all these years. You'd be thrilled, right? Now imagine he and Violet tried to kill each other. Could you really choose one? Stop loving one of them?”

Clem's anger turned into that blank, far off look she'd always seem to gain when she thought no-one was looking. She leaned back and rested her head against the wall before closing her eyes. “I already had to make a choice like that, a long time ago…” She all but whispered. “A few days after AJ was born, my group fell apart. When half the group shot me and left me to die in the cold, my friends Kenny and Jane saved me. But… not long after, things went bad with them, too. They kept arguing about where we needed to go, and eventually, Jane had enough. Kenny… if I'm being honest, he was dangerous. His entire family died early on, and his new friends all got killed pretty soon after we met up again. I didn't notice it back then because I was just so glad to have him around, but Jane wanted to prove it to me. So… during a snowstorm, she hid AJ in a car and told us he was dead.”

“The fuck?” Louis gasped out in shock. Who could do that? Clementine nodded.

“When she told Kenny, he just snapped. The two started fighting, and after a bit, Kenny ended up beating her, but he didn't stop. He took her knife and tried to shove it in her chest, all while I was watching. I picked up my gun, aimed at him, and… I looked away. I couldn't bring myself to shoot him, and Jane died for it. It wasn't until after she was dead that we realized AJ was safe and sound. I let a friend die because I couldn't bring myself to stop an old one.” Clementine confessed wistfully. Louis was stunned into silence. God. He didn't have anything that could even come close to that. No wonder she never told AJ that part of the story. Despite his silence, just talking about it aloud seemed to have done something for Clementine, a look of realization coming over her. “… Minerva is her Kenny. “

“Yeah, that could be a good way to think of it.” The musician encouraged with a small smile.

“I… I'll always come second.”

His face fell. “On second thought, maybe not,” He groaned out, running a hand through his hair. Clem's expression wasn't sad, precisely. The best way he could describe it was a sort of resigned understanding that filled him with pity. “What I'm trying to say is that Violet isn't really picking sides. She loves you, Clem. She just also loves Minerva. In some weird Freaky Friday universe where you and Minnie traded places, I know for a fact she'd be fighting as hard for you as she is for Minnie here… that doesn't really make as much sense out loud-”

“Violet helps whoever she thinks is in danger in the moment. Is that what you mean?” Clementine pointed out, Louis grinning as she found the words he couldn't.

“Yes! Bingo.” He happily exclaimed.

The blind girl seemed to consider this for a moment. Ultimately, she simply pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Of course the girl of my dreams and one of my worst enemies had to be girlfriends. Wouldn't be my life if it weren't overly complicated…” She muttered, but her tone was lighter than it had been before. “Do you really think she still likes me?”

“Positive. She'll tell you herself if you don't believe me. You should talk to her.”

Surprised relief showed through in her body language as she physically perked up at the words. The corners of her mouth twitched up slightly. “I'll think about it. Thanks, Lou.”

He waved it off, struggling not to scoff at himself when he realized his mistake. “Glad to be of service,” He said with a smile. He felt the weight in his coat as he moved to stand up, reminding him of his original plan. “Speaking of which… want a drink?”

The alcohol swished around noisily as he removed it and held the bottle out to her. Clem's eyebrows raised in bemusement. “For future reference, maybe open with the drink.” She teased even as a smile came to her face and she gingerly took the bottle.

“I figured it might send the wrong message. 'Hey Clem, you seem emotionally vulnerable right now. Wanna get drunk with me?’” He quipped, getting a light giggle from the girl in question before she brought the bottle to her lips and downed a bit of it. Louis couldn't help but find Clem's scrunched up face cute as she tasted the liquor.

“Wow. That is _really_ sweet.”

“I try my best.”

If she could, Louis had no doubt she'd roll her eyes. “The drink, Louis. The gesture's not bad, though.” Their former leader replied with a small smirk.

***

As it turns out, Clem _really_ liked bourbon. Hell, once he had enough of it, it turned out Louis did too. He really hadn't meant to drink so much, but the way tension seemed to melt right off of Clementine the more times they shared the bottle was more intoxicating than the drink itself. Genuine happiness always seemed to be such a rarity for the poor girl, and as such, he couldn't bring himself to deny her something that gave it temporary as it might be. A faint blush had settled over the girl's tan skin while a smile accentuated it, his friend idly swinging the now much emptier bottle by her feet. The musician was just about as drunk himself, a legitimate first for him. Louis had never been the drink himself tipsy sort even back when the walkers first came around and the other kids were getting blackout drunk seemingly out of sheer spite for the old rules. Yet here he was, mind somewhat sluggish and filled with an alcohol-induced warmth that covered him like a blanket. He wasn't sure if it had been seconds or minutes of silence, and based on her face at the moment, neither did Clementine herself.

In the wordless room, the plastered pianist couldn't help but appreciate his equally wasted friend. He grinned at her smile, feeling so damn accomplished to have gotten one from her after how hurt she'd been earlier that night. It looked great on her. The faint red that accented her features was honestly pretty cute to his mind. Her brown locks helped complete it, the sight of her without her signature cap a rare one. A part of him thought she should go without it more, but even in his state he knew that saying as much was probably a bad idea. With how happy she looked, one could easily forget about the harsh scars that covered her body from years on the road, most of which he doubted he'd ever hear the stories for. Still, all the same, no one with functional eyes could deny Clem was pretty. _“God she's beautiful…”_ He idly thought. Clementine suddenly looked surprised, staring right at him.

“You think I'm beautiful?” She questioned, surprised disbelief radiating off of her. Shit, did he think that out loud? Clem's blush deepened as she looked away. “I didn't think anyone'd ever say that after…” Her expression saddened, filling the tipsy pianist with sympathy.

“You are, okay? You're fucking _amazing_ , Clem. Eyes or no eyes, you kick ass in, like, every way!” Louis exclaimed, his admiration for her clear even through the haze of the drink. The shocked expression she got at his words killed him. How could she not know how awesome she was?

The brunette gained a somewhat embarrassed smile before she downed a little more of the drink, the bottle now about a fourth full. Within a couple minutes, she laid her head back with a pleased little hum, her eyelids fluttering closed. “‘M tired…” His friend grogilly admitted. Even in his inebriated state, Louis couldn't help but find himself drawn to the opportunity for a bad joke. Struggling to contain his self-induced giggles, he leaned close to her.

“Hi tired, I'm-” The slightly slurred words instantly died as her lips found his. His cozy drunken warmth became a mind-numbing inferno, countless contrary emotions flashing through him in an instant. Louis’ brain was short circuiting, unsure of how to respond to the completely alien sensation while she kept it going. After a short eternity, his senses returned to him, the boy pulling out of her kiss with a stunned gasp and dumbed smile. Louis blinked. That… that didn't just happen, did it? Clementine hadn't just kissed him, right? No, no way that could have happened. And yet he could still feel her on him. Clementine really just kissed him, the girl seeming to mirror his expression. His absent minded grin grew larger for a moment until realization. _Clementine, his best friend's girlfriend, kissed him_. The comfortably numb heat of intoxication was gone in an instant, replaced by the cold panic of sobriety. FUCK.

He quickly got to his feet with a nervous laugh. “Ah… well, um, that was- I- good talk Clem! It's late, so I've got-” _makesomethingupmakesomethingupmakesomethingup_ “- bed duty.”

_“You stupid fucking moron.”_

To his absolute relief, the blind teenager was too drunk and/or tired to realize how bullshit it clearly was. “G'night... Lou… thanks... for…” She trails off, falling asleep before she even hit the pillow. He bolted out of the room, closing the door as quietly as he could in his overdrive state and running down the hall. Once he was sufficiently far away from her room, he leaned against the nearest wall, instantly slumping down until he was sitting on the ground. His heart was pounding, but he couldn't tell if it was from the thrill of the kiss or subsequent terror at realizing what he did. He let out a ragged breath, closing his eyes.

If Violet didn't kill him, his own mortification would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Louis will still lose a tongue after all.


	11. Facing Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine confronts Violet on their uneasy relationship. Louis finds himself struggling to keep up with his responsibilities in the wake of the vote.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was intended to be a little longer, but frankly I ran out of time. The bit I didn't end up getting in this chapter will be in the next. 
> 
> For context as to why Minerva doesn't show up in this chapter; Ruby volunteered to keep watch on her for the first day as the school's prisoner. Next chapter will be what she was doing during all this.

_"Fear is the coffee of emotions._

_Wakes you up, keeps you sharp…_

_It can be a friend, if you let it."_

Clementine didn't think anything could hurt more than when Minerva's knife slid into her eyes. That was still the case, but good god, this hangover had to at least be in the top five worst pains she'd ever felt. Clem woke up with a groan, quickly clutching her pounding head. “F-fuucking… ugh...” She complained with a cringe. She tried to sit up only to collapse back down in the bed, hissing at the sharp pain stabbing through her mind at the sudden movement. Why was everything so dark? She could feel sunlight on her, so why… oh. Right. Her cringe morphed into an aggravated frown. Her mouth was uncomfortably dry as well, only serving to further her rapidly souring mood.

“Clem?” AJ's high pitched voice reached her ears, a little too loud in her opinion. Despite her headache, she gave a small, tight smile at where she was fairly sure the young boy was standing.

“H-hey there, goofball. What're you doing up before me?”

“Louis told me to let you sleep in today. He said you were feeling really tired yesterday. Oh, he also said I should give you this when you woke up!” He called out, Clem trying to hide her gritting teeth. She felt him hand her a bottle, the blind girl hesitantly raising it to her lips. Her eyes closed as she felt water wash over her parched throat, instant relief filling her. She greedily downed the small container in just a few seconds before relieved sigh escaped her.

“Thanks, kiddo. Feeling better already,” She said gratefully. The pounding had slightly subdued itself into a duller ache, still annoying but far more manageable for the teen. With her head starting to clear, she realized something felt different. Clem gasped as she realized her blindfold was still off and she desperately fumbled around for it. After a hellishly long moment, she finally found the fabric, quickly wrapping it around her eyes and tying it off. Jesus, how could she have made such a stupid mistake? Getting this drunk in the first place was one thing, but for that to have ended up with AJ seeing something bad enough to scare someone three times his age? Humiliated shame and guilt overpowered her as she looked away from him. “Oh, AJ, I-I'm so sorry! You shouldn't have had to see that!” She frantically apologized. Clem suddenly found herself in a tight hug, which she quickly returned. He was resting his head on her shoulder.

“It's okay, Clem. I mean, it was kinda scary at first, but it's you. I can't be scared of you. I love you.” Her son whispered to her. Her eye went wide as the words bounced around in her skull. He… he wasn't scared? He saw what she really looked like, her empty socket and bloodied unseeing eye, and he still only saw her instead of the scars. He was still hugging her like she could disappear at any moment. She'd been so afraid of what he'd think, worried herself sick as she pictured his fearful face, and yet all he offered her was the same love as always. Her heart swelled as she pulled him closer. Hangover be damned, her child was here.

“I love you back, goofball. So much.” Clementine soothed, trying to calm herself more than anything. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not her eyes, not the vote, not Violet, nothing but her entire world doing his best to make her feel loved. A shaky smile came to her. At least she knew someone who'd always have her back.

***

It was a rare day when Louis found himself speechless. His exuberant and carefree nature was both a blessing and a curse for the pianist that always had some joke or retort just waiting on the tip of his tongue. It had gotten him out of almost as many tough spots as it had gotten him into over the years. In a lot of ways, this latest incident was no different, but it had to be one of the trickiest situations he'd ever fallen into. Just about any situation with Violet tended to be hard. It usually didn't involve quite as much homewrecking, though.

He let out a cross of a groan and a grunt as he sat back in Marlon's chair, one hand running through his dreads while the other nervously tapped on the arm of it. The pianist wracked his brain to come up with something close enough to the truth that wouldn't end up with Chairles firmly lodged up his ass by the time Violet was done with him. She'd want an explanation of what the hell happened after he left the vote, naturally. After all, he was supposed to just talk with Clem, and then both of them disappeared for the entire night. It was barely three when he met up with her, and the pair spent so long drinking away their sorrows that dinner was nearly ready by the time he finally scraped together enough courage to leave the hallway he'd practically collapsed in. AJ was the one to find him first on his way to get them for the meal. He was thankfully able to be convinced rather easily that Clem was tired and went to bed early, which was true ignoring the part about her drinking herself to sleep. The boy left with merely a comment about him smelling weird before making his way back the the undoubtedly tense meal in the courtyard. He'd quietly slunk off to his own room shortly after the encounter, and there he had stayed, completely unable to sleep between the excitement of Clementine kissing him and the dread of what would happen because of it. Aside from spritzing a bit of cologne on to smell less like a hobo stumbling out of a bar, he'd done nothing but think about how the hell he'd explain what happened.

Sure, he could just _not_ bring it up. That'd be easier on him to be sure. But… what if Clementine remembered it and admitted it to Violet? He was never a very good liar. If she asked if it was true, he wouldn't be able to lie even if he wanted to. What kind of piece of shit would just hide something like that from his closest surviving friend? That would kill their friendship in an instant. Of course, he doubted being the one to tell her that he got Clementine so drunk that she did it would fair much better for him. He didn't have the nerve to face Clem yet after doing that to her, so simply asking was out of the question. Basically, he was fucked no matter what he did and it was all his fault. So… yeah, this was probably his last day before his fearless leader put him six feet under if she was feeling merciful. He leaned back further in the chair in an attempt to get even slightly comfortable, only for gravity itself to turn against him as the chair slid out from under him and he crashed to the floor with a startled yelp. A throbbing pain raced through his entire back, but he couldn't be bothered to pick himself up, simply glaring at the ceiling. Seems like whoever was out there had an appreciation for slapstick and a bone to pick with him. A defeated sigh escaped him, the musician lazily letting his arms fall to the ground. Why did he always have to fuck up other people's happiness?

The door to the office flew open, a fierce looking Violet racing inside. Oh, cool. His death would be swift at least. He half expected her to just slam her cleaver into him, but instead, her face softened to one of concern. "Louis? Are you alright?"

"My pride is bruised, and probably my ass too, but I'm fine," He unenthusiastically joked, rolling out of the chair with a pained hiss. Shit, he probably did bruise something, but that was the least of his concerns right now. Her concern once more shifted into something between amusement and suspicion. Hoping to keep the topic off their mutual friend, he continued the gag. "Frankly, I'd be more worried about the chair. It's more valuable."

A hint of sadness flashed in her eyes, making him internally wince. For all her jokes about him being a moron or hating him, she never seemed to like it when he put himself down even in jest. Vi was a good friend, despite her attempts to obfuscate that fact. She wouldn't go behind his back like he had. She mercifully didn't draw any further attention to the comment, instead sighing and crossing her arms. "What are you even doing here, anyway? Don't you have a piano to be butchering?" She snarked lightly. Despite finding it funny, a smile couldn't reach his lips. "... Did something go wrong with Clem last night? AJ said she was asleep, and you weren't at dinner either."

He grimaced at the name, no longer able to look at his old friend. "I… if I'm being honest, you two _really_ need to talk. She's not doing great."

Worry overcame her features. "... How 'not great'?"

He looked down at his feet, putting his hands on his hips. "'Not great' enough that I shouldn't be the one telling you about it. She needs you, Vi."

She mumbled out a few swears that he couldn't quite make out, concern clear on her face. "Do you know where she is?"

"Last I saw her, she was in her room. I-" She took off without bothering to hear him finish, quick footsteps fading down the hall until silence fell over the room. He considered going with her, but decided against it. His 'help' was what got them in this situation to begin with. His shoulders slumped as the boy walked back to the chair and set it back at the desk. At the very least, hopefully the pair could talk out their issues before he fucked things up any worse. Maybe he'd be lucky and she'd forgotten their kiss. Maybe he could pretend it didn't happen, and someday he'd actually forget it and things could go back to how they were. Until then… he couldn't be around them, knowing how much he'd violated their trust.

Within just a few minutes, he found himself approaching the front gate. Chairles bounced lightly against his leg inside his coat with every step forward. The musician turned leader needed to do something to clear his mind, something useful. As much as he loved his piano, it just didn't seem to help his unusually dour mood. So what was something he somewhat enjoyed and could mentally justify as useful to the group? Hunting was the only thing to come to mind, because he sure as fuck wasn't fishing. And thus he was, a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder and a shit ton of negative thoughts he needed to deal with. There was only one obstacle: his rule-stickling former pyromaniac of a friend. Aasim jumped down from the watch post ladder, landing with a stumble next to him. "Uh, where do you think you're going?"

"Shit, dude, nice jump. The landing's a B minus though."

Aasim looked thoroughly unamused, but that was par for the course with him. He crossed his arms as he looked over Louis with clear suspicion. "Answer the question."

Louis shrugged, a small smirk coming to him. "You caught me, Aasim; I'm Robin Hood," He joked. Annoyance flashed in his studious friend's eyes, making him grin, but he caught himself before he could get too absorbed by bugging the resident firebug all day. "Alright, alright. I'm going hunting."

"Uh, no, you're not."

Louis' smile fell, lips thinning in annoyance. "Uh, yes, I am."

"You aren't scheduled for it until Thursday. I know you aren't great with time, but you _have_ to know it's only Monday."

By this point, he'd had enough of the interruption. Why couldn't it have been Willie? Willie would've just gone along with it. "I know what the schedule says, Aasim, I'm the one who wrote it. Now I'm ignoring it. I'll be back later." Louis said sternly. He shoved passed his friend and through the gate. A frustrated scoff signaled Aasim had a mutual feeling for him right now.

"Fine. Whatever. Not sure what I should have expected. Just don't get yourself killed, asshole!" The bookworm called out from behind. He lazily waved a two-fingered salute.

"And let you have a day of peace? Not a chance, buddy."

***

Two hours after her rude awakening, Clementine finally got the strength to pull herself out of bed. AJ had left to do his chores shortly after their embrace once she insisted she was fine, though the young boy had made her pinkyswear on it to her amusement. It was always nice to see him acting like a kid. She went through god knows how much water to clear her head, but at last, the drink-induced headache finally left her alone. Clem could still smell the alcohol on herself as another reminder of the previous night's events however. She just hoped that the others would be courteous enough not to comment on it when they found her. She'd snuck off to the greenhouse through the recently reclaimed back of the school, careful to avoid going through the courtyard while she was still unprepared to face her fellow students.

Leisurely walking through the peaceful rows of plants, Clem ruminated on yesterday. Storming out of the vote like she did was stupid. Childish. Between that and reeking of booze, there was no doubt the others would think she drunk herself into a stupor over it… which she had. She sighed, shaking her head at her own actions. They'd be worried, naturally. After all her work with Ruby to prove to herself and them that she could still function, she just had to go and give them cause for concern again. How could she expect them to treat her like an equal if she kept acting unstable? If she were lucky, they'd overlook it, considering Minerva's involvement, but she had to get a handle on it. She couldn't keep losing it every time she thinks of her, especially now that the evil bitch was staying at the school. The familiar, sickening rage tugged at the back of her mind, but Clem struggled to force it out. No, that was exactly the sort of thing she couldn't let happen anymore.

The girl reached out, gingerly dragging her fingers along the plant life. She took a deep breath of the earthy air and tried to focus on the things that always comforted her. Lee's rumbling voice. Kenny's strong embrace. AJ's adorable smile. Louis’ corny jokes. Violet's loving gaze-

Her face fell. Her hand slowly retracted from the growing vegetables and hung loosely by her side. The same sort of hollowness she felt last night returned, suddenly draining Clem of both her peace and bitterness at once. Even if she had working eyes, Clementine would never see that look again. Violet had her girlfriend back, and now, the blind brunette was just something she had to keep alive out of basic decency. Just like she had become to Christa. Clem felt sick as she slowly sat down against one of the growing tables.

The traumatized teenager sat there for some time wallowing in this feeling that had plagued her for weeks in one form or another. Violet had been with her nearly every night, but looking back, Clementine realized something she never had in the moment: Violet never said she loved her. Not on the bell tower, not on the ship, not once. Really, she should have put it together a while ago. She deluded herself into thinking one kiss with a friend was the same as actually being in a relationship. If anything, it was her fault for believing something that was so blatantly untrue to anyone with a brain. She was the one stupid enough to think she could ever matter more to Violet in a month than Minerva had in at least eight years. Clem laughed weakly at herself. Lily was right about one thing after all: she was _so_ fucking arrogant.

Violet. God, it was weird to think there had been days when that name wasn't a daily thought. She could barely imagine that so little time had passed since they met. She found, lost, and found again a home, fell in love, lost her sight, went insane, and rebuilt herself, all in the span of just over four weeks. Violet, the girl she loved more than almost anything, the girl she wished cared about her in the same way. It was clear now: her intrepid leader saw her as a friend, but one so broken that she pretended to be in love with her just to keep her sane. She couldn't decide if that was kind or cruel. Whichever one it was, it was just how Violet operated. Thus was the source of so much of her joy and sorrow in recent weeks. In the end, though, it didn't really matter. Whatever Violet might've felt for her was clearly gone now if it was ever there at all.

_“Do you really think she still likes me?”_

_“Positive. She'll tell you herself if you don't believe me. You should talk to her.”_

The unbidden memory flashed in her mind, interrupting her self-deprecating spiral. The words bounced around in her head like pinballs. You should talk to her. Five simple words, yet they felt so heavy on her mind. Should she? Louis seemed pretty certain Violet still cared, but… what if he were wrong? Or if he were lying to make her feel better? What if she went to her girlfriend only to be told flat out she never really loved her? It would crush whatever was left of her after all this. Maybe not knowing would be better. Maybe she could settle for pretending Violet cared. Maybe… maybe she should stop being such a coward. She wanted to laugh at herself. Clementine was brave enough to fight an army of raiders and the undead, and yet the idea of just talking to what was supposed to be her girlfriend filled her with more fear than she'd felt at any point living under Carver's boot. Fear… fear would be her downfall, if she let it. Clem shook her head. She didn't come all this way just to keep lying to herself. She had to at least try. If Violet were over her… well, at least she wouldn't be torturing herself wondering.

“Clementine?”

She startled to her feet as she was ripped from her thoughts, whipping her head around to the source of the noise. She knew that voice. Hell, she'd drifted off to sleep to it more than a few times. Clem suddenly found her throat dry. Shit, what was she doing here? Her determination clashed with sudden apprehension as she gasped out, "Violet?"

Boots softly thudded against the floor with each passing second while Clementine tried to decide what exactly she should do. It was a hell of a lot easier to say she'd talk to Violet when the blonde wasn't right here in front of her. She could make something up, but Vi wasn't stupid. No way she wouldn't see through any lie Clem thought of on the spot. It was funny, in a way. Of course she'd be thrust into a high-stakes conversation literally seconds after deciding she should have it at all. The girl was right in front of her now, worry clear in her voice. "Clem, are you okay? I didn't see you last night, and Louis was being weird when I asked him what-" She stopped suddenly. The reason quickly became apparent. “... Shit… Clem, have you been drinking?”

Fuck. Clem looked away, heat rising in her cheeks. “Not today. But… Louis and I got pretty drunk last night,” She confessed. Violet mumbled something along the lines of 'fucking Louis', which prompted her to explain. "It's not his fault. I…" She hesitated. If she did it, there'd be no going back. She closed her eyes beneath her blindfold as she sucked in a final breath. "I'm not okay. He tried to help, but... I need to talk to you. About us. About everything, really."

No immediate response came back. Nervousness started seeping into her mind as the seemingly endless moment stretched on. Did she make a mistake? She couldn't see Violet's expression, depriving her of getting an idea what the blonde might be thinking. She forced herself to stand still. Clem was in too deep to run away from it now. "I-y-yeah, okay. Let's, uh.… let's talk," Violet sputtered out apprehensively. Some of her nervousness faded at the words, though she still found herself tense. "Should we do it here, or…?"

Clem gently sat back down. She heard Violet plop next to her shortly after. A warm hand slowly wrapped over her own, bringing a faint smile to her lips. Taking a breath, she began. "I've been thinking a lot about that night on the bell tower. I remember how peaceful it was up there with you, just watching the stars together. That was the first time I'd really felt relaxed in years. No worrying about walkers or food, just you, me, and a pretty night," She remembered fondly, smiling as she pictured the twinkling stars and Violet's face in the moonlight. "I was shocked when you said you had feelings for me too. I… I really thought I'd never love anyone like that. But…" Her face fell, heart feeling heavier with every word. "Minerva destroyed me, Violet. She didn't just take my eyes. Ever since it happened, it's like I'm constantly on edge. Even when I'm happy, I can't shake the feeling that something's about to happen. Other times, it's like I'm just dead weight. Ruby's been helping with that, but it's still there."

Violet's fingers hesitantly slipped through her curls. She knew it was supposed to be reassuring, but she couldn't shake the slight hollowness that seemed to accompany it. "It's alright, Clem. You're-"

"You're not listening!" Clem interrupted, voice harsher than she intended. The other girl was clearly taken aback. Frustration bubbled in her at her friend's words. "It's not alright. She crippled me for life! She drove me insane! She did all of this…" Her scolding tone broke to something softer. "... and you forgave her. You said you cared, and then you let her stay, knowing what she's done. So… did you really feel that way?"

"I-fuck, Clem, of course I did! I do! The fuck kind of question is that? You're everything to me." Violet quickly reassured, voice laced with hurt. A hand cupped her chin, resentment filling Clem in an instant. She slapped it away, turning to glare at her.

"I'm everything? Then why is Minerva still here?!" Clementine hissed out. "If I was everything to you, then she would've taken even more from you than me, but she didn't. I-" Her voice faltered, the angry shouts fading into morose whispers. "I know I'm not being fair, but god damn it, I wish I mattered as much to you as she does. I know you love her, Vi. I just wish you loved me."

She didn't fight off the other girl's touch this time, but found no comfort in it. "Clem, _nothing_ is more important than you. Not Minnie, not the school, nothing. I… I don't want to leave her again, but whatever the two of us had was gone long before I ever met you. I promise, I won't let her get between us anymore. I... I'm sorry I didn't save you. I'm sorry any of this ever happened…" The blonde trailed off sorrowfully. Clementine stayed silent while she considered the survivor's words. Violet sounded genuine, which slightly improved her mood, but… she'd sounded genuine for the past couple weeks. The blinded brunette didn't really know for sure if the words really did anything to disprove her fears of Violet faking her affection. Suddenly, she got an idea, turning to the slightly older student.

"... Prove it. Say you love me, and I'll know if you mean it."

"Like I said, I care-"

"'I. Love. You.' Those exact words."

Violet hesitated. As the seconds passed, more and more cold rage simmered inside Clementine at her reluctance. She was right after all. She looked away from her and pulled out of her grasp. "Clem, please. I swear, you matter to me! I'd do anything to prove it."

"You can do it any time you want, but you won't, because it's not true."

Violet's voice shook. "Clemen-"

"Three words, Violet! Three goddamn words! If you really feel it, why is it so hard to just say it?!" Clem demanded, too upset to notice as her voice raised with every word.

"Because everyone I ever love fucking leaves me!" Violet howled, stunning Clementine into silence. "Grandpa, grandma, mom, Minnie, they all fucking left me. I let myself get close to you, and now you're blind. Everyone I've ever given a shit about dies or fucks me over or ends up hurt, and if I say it, it's just going to hurt worse when something happens," She ranted, voice wet and teary. Clementine's bitterness was soon overtaken by regret as the girl pulled her into a tight hug. Violet didn't resist, but her arms remained limp at her sides. Her voice shuddered as she said, "I don't want to say it, because if I do, you'll leave me too. I can't live without you."

Clem searched for Violet's hand and squeezed it. "I'm not going anywhere. Why would I go anywhere else when you're here?" She echoed herself from the night that started it all.

"You don't know-"

"I know I'm not going right now. I know you aren't either. That's enough for me." The blind girl soothed.

"You sound like Louis."

Her lips quirked up ever so slightly. "Sometimes he isn't a _complete_ dumbass, you know."

Violet shifted a little in her hold, but didn't reply. Silence reigned for a few more moments before she felt the other girl's hand pull free of hers only to wrap around her shoulder as Violet leaned into her hold.

"Clem… I… _fuck it_ ," Her leader muttered under her breath. Clem could feel her eyes gazing intently at her face. After a moment, warm lips pressed against her own, Violet gripping her hand so fiercely it almost felt like it could break. The feeling lasted a small eternity until she finally pulled back and spoke. "I love you, Clementine. More than anything."

In that moment, it felt like the last two weeks had just been a bad dream. The heartache, the bitterness, the doubt, all that crushing weight pushing down on her was suddenly gone in an instant. In its place was absolute elation. She took a deep breath, her lungs feeling so much clearer. This… this was real. Clem was so relieved it felt like she could cry. Instead, a euphoric grin came to her face as she hugged her girlfriend so tightly that the shy blonde let out a surprised strangle. "I love you too, Violet."

Things couldn't be the way they were, but that didn't mean they couldn't be good.

***

The woods were quieter than usual, only the soft crunching of dead leaves reaching Louis' ear as he walked through the familiar treeline. Orange and red leaves buried the trail, but he knew the path to the hunting grounds by heart after years of experience. Hell, he could probably go there blindfolded if he had to. He'd probably be the group's best hunter if he were any good with a bow. As it stood, though, he was about as useful as Clementine's right eye.

Louis stopped dead in his tracks as a rustling sound caught his ears. He slowly slid the bow off of his back and notched an arrow to the string. Sure enough, a plump hare jumped out from the brush ahead, stopping to sniff at a lone plant peaking out amongst the sea of orange and brown. He pulled the string back and tried his best to line up the shot. He took a breath and let go only for his shot to go wide, the arrow planting itself a few inches to the right. The rabbit bolted instantly and disappeared back into the dense vegetation it came from. He frowned deeply, snatching the arrow out of the ground with a begrudging sigh. Of course he couldn't even hit a sitting duck of a target. He shook his head. No need to get angry. The day was still relatively young.

A few minutes passed by before another creature crossed his path. A squirrel rushed along the tree branches frantically, only briefly stopping to twitch and observe its surroundings. He quickly loaded the same arrow as before and fired again. It soared into the air and disappeared amongst the remaining leaves of the treetops while the squirrel retreated into a hole in the old bark. An annoyed scoff escaped him as he put his hands on his hips. Okay, maybe that just happened to be a bad arrow. It happens. Sliding the bow back onto his back, he started on his way over to his traps. Something had to be in at least one of them. The crunching leaves seemed to get louder and louder the closer he got to his elaborately designed cages and snares, a grating noise that followed him no matter where he stepped in the forest. He wished a bird or something would call out amongst the trees just to break the monotony, but nothing did. Just when he was convinced he'd go crazy from it, he finally saw one of his chalk x's on a nearby tree. He smiled a bit. Maybe this whole trip wouldn't be totally fruitless.

To his disappointment, every trap he checked came up bare. The bait hadn't even been disturbed since the last time he was out. His irritation took on a hint of disconcertion. It wasn't normal for the traps to be _this_ empty. Even with the usual slowdown around this time of year, there should've been more. He wondered for a moment if someone could be stealing from them again, but it didn't look like anything had been tampered with. It could just be the wildlife getting ready for the rapidly approaching winter, which was bad for the still unprepared students. Several underwhelming minutes later, he stood with absolutely nothing to show for his efforts. He leaned against one of the non-trapped trees with a shake of his head. It didn't make sense. Sure, this area had already been running out even when Marlon was around, but… it couldn't have run dry already, could it? Louis didn't like the idea of them having to venture out into what was essentially uncharted territory this soon after the whole Delta fiasco.  It was risky enough within the supposed safe zone. Suddenly, a puff of grayish brown fur ran passed him, startling him to his feet. A bunny was hauling ass in the opposite direction of him, big and just begging to become one of Omar's stews. The pianist bolted after it in an instant, intent on getting at least one bit of food to bring back. He didn't bother trying to fiddle with the bow while he was running. After all, he'd miss anyway. His best chance was to just grab the thing. Leaves flew around haphazardly in his wake, signature coat flowing behind him in the artificial breeze. He swerved around a tree while his prey slid under a small tunnel at the base of it. The fuzzy little bastard was almost in arm's length now. A couple more seconds… now! He dove for the rabbit, feeling its fur slip between his clasping fingers as it narrowly escaped into its burrow, leaving the teen face down in the dirt.

Louis looked on in disbelief. It… it was right in his hands. His teeth grit as he slowly pulled himself up. He had it, and then it was gone before he knew it. Story of his fucking life. "God damn it!" He screamed in frustration, kicking at the leaves and sending a swarm of dead plant life soaring into the air. Couldn't hunt, couldn't lead, couldn't even be a decent friend for the people who he cared about… fuck! Why did he have to be so shit at everything that mattered? Why did Clem have to get captured instead of him? If he were taken, at least she'd still be okay. She could lead them and actually be good at it instead of flailing around like an idiot like he was. She'd still be the confident badass he'd met a month prior instead of being reduced to an embittered and self-doubting shell of her former self. Everything would have been better if they'd just taken him. If he-

A low gurgling sound drifted over the wind, ripping him from his thoughts. He paused his rant as he silently pulled out Chairles and waited for the walker to come out into the open. Before it could, however, he heard a rope quickly fastening followed by a harsh _thump_ against a tree. He cocked an eyebrow as he cautiously approached the source of the noise with his weapon at the ready. As he peaked around the old wood, his serious expression morphed into a smug smirk. "Well, hello there, mister walker!" He taunted. The corpse had managed to ensnare itself in one of the traps, not unlike that day they first encountered Abel. It hung helplessly in the air, a small splattering of blood left on the tree it had slammed into. He poked at it with the chair leg as it hissed and swung its rotten arms at him, the boy too far away for it to reach. Looking around and seeing no other walkers, Louis grinned at his newfound toy. "You know, full disclosure, I've been having a pretty shitty day. I can't exactly go around punching my problems… BUT I can slap you around consequence free! Thanks for being there for me, buddy!" The upbeat leader happily exclaimed. He'd never really been the sort to punch out his frustrations, but it always seemed to do wonders for Violet and Marlon. In lieu of playing his prized piano, beating the shit out of a walker pinata seemed like a good way to unwind while he was out here. Lining up his shot, he pulled back and swung into the walker's hip.

A sickening wet _fwack_ noise erupted alongside an angry hiss from the reanimated body as it swung to the left, murky eyes seeming to glare at him. Withered arms tried to grab for him only to be smacked away by thick wood that cracked the aging bones. One snapped off entirely at the elbow while the other bent at an awkward angle before another strike sent the walker spiraling in place. Louis smirked as he swung again and again and felt a little more of his frustration melt away with each strike. He'd forgotten how fun this was after everything that had went down in the last month. The dead body seemed less thrilled, idly snapping at the air in his direction. "Hey man, don't leave your mouth open, you'll catch flies. Well, more than you already have anyway…" He quipped as he prepared his next strike, slamming into its jaw and nearly ripping it from its skull. "Oh! Gotta say, man, that's a pretty serious overbite! Luckily, Doctor Louis is in the building!"

He swung the chair leg at full force, only to feel it suddenly stop halfway through. "Enough!" A voice growled to his right, Louis swirling to find himself face to face with a very pissed off walker. Or, at least, what looked like a walker at first glance. James' dark eyes pierced him from behind his mask as he held the musician's beloved weapon with one hand. Louis backed away on instinct while the former whisperer dismissively threw the makeshift mace to the ground. A disapproving frown adorned his usually stoic face as he glared at Louis. "There's no need for such cruelty. Even if you don't see them as I do, surely you still recognize that they were people once!" He scolded. Louis' fright shifted into annoyance.

He crossed his arms at Clementine's eccentric friend. "Christ, James. Could you wear a bell or something? I had a turtle louder than you," The boy quipped. James' harsh glare continued. "I'm sorry, all right? Sometimes, it slips my mind. Sometimes I look at walkers and just see asshole corpses that kill my friends."

"He was someone's friend, once."

Louis gave a huff. "Look, Jay, I'm really not looking for a lecture right now..." He complained, snatching his weapon up from the ground.

"Would you want someone to do something like that to your friend's body?" James demanded. The image of Marlon's pitiful corpse falling to the ground instantly flashed in his mind. Louis felt his fists tighten, icy fury filling him at this prick's judgemental tone.

"Dude. Fucking stop. Right now. You are on _way_ too thin ice."

The older boy relented somewhat, his anger resigning into a sort of disappointed pity. He looked at the softly groaning walker still vainly reaching out for Louis. Louis sighed, shoving the bloodied weapon back into his coat. "So, what brings you out to this neck of the woods anyway? The pun isn't intentional, by the way." He asked, trying to sound friendly but unable to fully hide the distrust from his voice.

"I was coming to the school to help that girl… Minerva. Aasim saw me and asked if I could find you. He was afraid you were in danger, out here alone."

 _"Gee, thanks, Ass-im,"_ He thought to himself with a mental groan. He was looking out for him, which was touching, but the tension between the pianist and their unofficial new member was hardly a secret. For all his intelligence, Aasim sure seemed to miss out in some glaringly obvious things. Faking a smile, he replied, "Well, I can pretty firmly say no one is in danger here, least of all the rabbits I'm trying to hunt. You can report back with the all clear. Besides, Minerva could probably use the help."

James seemed to ponder this for a moment, but slowly shook his head. "It is dangerous, to be alone so far out. I would like to stay with you until we return to the school."

"Seriously, I'm good. I'll be back in a bit." Louis insisted as his smile dropped. His untrusted comrade didn't make any move to leave. "Look, I'm not gonna hit ghouly here any more when you go if that's what's the hold up. Scout's honor."

 _"Nevermind that I dropped out of Boy Scouts…"_ He silently mused. His patience for James was beginning to reach the end of its rope. He wanted to be friends with the guy, truly he did, but he was just so damn stubborn about his ideals that it went from admirable to dangerous. As the seconds passed and James still remained still, he gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Does your 'do no harm' philosophy apply to rabbits? If not, I could _maybe_ use some help catching them."

If Violet was so dead set on having the guy around, at least he could help him out right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold, the most melodramatic I'm willing to go before I officially begin scrapping and rewriting shit. I'll admit, this chapter was a toughie. I liked the Violet/Clem scene too much to cut it, but at the same time, couldn't help but feel it was kind of soap opera-ish even after toning it down a bit. I'll try to keep things less Hallmarky from now on, I swear.
> 
> Good news, I found a way to make James mildly more interesting to write: have him around people who don't like him. It's a simple, yet shockingly effective way of making his interactions creative.


	12. Blurring Lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva begins her first day back at Ericson's. Meanwhile, Louis makes a risky decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A touch shorter and a bit later than usual, so my apologies on that. Been a busy week on my end. Still, hope this is still up to snuff!

_ “They shoulda got us, but we got them.  _

_ Fear is the thing that'll kill us, Clementine.” _

Pale sunlight flooded Minerva's eyes. A small hiss escaped her as she slammed her eyes shut once more, instinctively moving a hand to block out the harsh brightness only for it to be pulled back to her side by her restraints. The glaring light mercifully dimmed through her eyelids, the redhead slowly flittering her eyes open again while they adjusted. Her face defaulted into the blank frown that she'd worn for months now. She rose up as much as she could with a groan, her wound still sore as hell. A quick glance around the room made it clear she wasn't in Martin's office anymore. The greenish white walls and sickeningly sweet decorations were replaced by aged brown stone and miscellaneous supplies and boxes haphazardly piled around the room. 

She cocked her eyebrow. It was clear they'd moved her to the basement, but why? She was tied down to a cot of some sort, which in turn was tied to one of the old pipes spreading throughout the room. The sound of rustling chains snapped her attention to the stairway before the heavy shutters opened, bathing the basement in light. "Rise n'shine, Minnie!" A silhouette called out from the top of the stairs. Minerva gave a light glare to Ruby as she descended the staircase. While the usual disgruntled expression adorned the medic's face, there was something different about it this time. Some hint of smugness rested in her eyes that further annoyed the former raider. The other redhead looked completely unphased by her harsh gaze as she put her hands on her hips. "Wouldn't wanna be tardy on yer first day a'probation, wouldja?"

"Probation?" Minerva questioned quizzically.

Ruby gave an affirming hum, glancing at the girl's restraints. "We took a vote. Yer stayin' here, at least until we're sure what t'do with you. In the meantime, yer healthy enough that you can pull yer weight around 'ere. Now, here's what's gonna happen: Ah'm gonna undo one a'yer cuffs, and you are gonna wait until Ah step away 'fore you try undoin' the rest of'em. Try anything while Ah'm close," She stopped, letting out a whistle. Rosie charged down the stairs and stood obediently next to Ruby. The pup seemed slightly confused, seeming to recognize her yet also picking up on the country girl's hostility towards her. "... An' she'll get a new chew toy. You understand?"

Minerva stared at her in absolute disbelief. She actively worked against them for an entire year, maimed their leader, nearly gotten them all captured, and they were  _ still  _ just letting her stay? "You're making a mistake. This could get you killed."

The medic bristled slightly at that. "That a threat, Minnie?" She dared, eyes narrowing suspiciously at her as Rosie shifted into a defensive crouch, refusing to look away from her. She frowned at her former friend.

"No, that's a fact. You're all making a mistake, letting me stay here. It's dangerous. Keeping prisoners is more trouble than it's worth." 

An almost amused huff escaped Ruby as she stepped closer. "Fer the record, Ah whole heartedly agree," She announced, unlatching the belt tightly wrapped around Minnie's right wrist. The girl in question rolled her eyes at the slightly younger student jumping back like a bat out of hell, waiting a moment before making her way through the various restraints. A quiet sigh of relief escaped her as she testingly moved her limbs, glad to finally stretch out her arms and legs a little. Her body ached from nearly two weeks of being tied down aside from a few short hours of basic (and heavily supervised) exercises in recent days to keep atrophy from setting in. She turned back to Ruby, who was still carefully watching her. "Good. Walk up th'stairs. Slowly, now…"

Minerva could already tell this was going to get annoying fast. Still, not particularly wanting Marlon's  _ other  _ lapdog to munch on her, she took her time with each step. Her eyes burned a little as the naked morning light blinded her for a moment. It faded to reveal the courtyard, which somehow felt completely different yet also seemed the same. Some of the old tables had been overturned and placed as makeshift trenches facing the gate, though the grand dining table of lined up picnic benches was still where she remembered it. Aasim was standing at the guard tower. He glanced at her before hurriedly looking back out to the forest, a pang of hurt instantly being snuffed out by her emotional mask. The familiar feeling of being watched came over her as she briefly searched the courtyard from her spot outside the basement. Sure enough, she could see Willie and Clementine's kid glaring at her from Omar's fire pit, the older boy noticing it and quickly trying (and failing) to bring their attention back to whatever cooking lesson he was teaching. Well, guess she knew who voted to kick her out. Not that it mattered, anyway. It's obvious none of them did it because it was the smart thing to do but rather out of pure spite. They were as dangerously arrogant as Violet in their own way. Regardless of them, she was both relieved and disappointed to not see Tenn around. She probably looked like shit right now. He shouldn't have to see her like this.

Then again, she wouldn't ever be good enough for him to face again, would she?

"Ahem…?" Ruby said exaggeratedly, Minerva flashing a quick glare at her before crossing her arms and resuming her scrutinizing observations. Lily had mentioned Clementine bolstered the place's defenses, but seeing it in person, it was actually remarkable how fortified it had become. Barbed wire along the walls, fresh barricades on the windows, actual weaponry along the watchtower… the girl would've been good in the Delta if she just knew when to bend. Instead, she resisted, and broke completely. That's just the way it is. The way it had to be. A finger tapped on her shoulder. "Earth ta Minnie. You there?"

"I can't do what you want if you don't tell me what it is," She gruffed out, still refusing to look at the girl a year her junior. For all her talk and bluster, Ruby was still acting like Minerva was just another student. She was touching an uncuffed prisoner for god's sake. She'd laugh if she weren't so terrified. Was this the kind of wishy washy bullshit Vi had been allowing after Marlon bit the dust? Crazy and reckless as the brunette was, even Clementine wasn't this brazenly in over her head. Sure, Rosie was still watching her like a hawk, but there was really very little stopping her from killing the country girl if she wanted to right now. She was fairly certain no one except AJ even had a weapon on them. If this was the kind of ship her former girlfriend was running, it was a miracle they didn't all die during Lily's raid. At last, she turned to the other redhead with a glower. "And my name is  _ Minerva _ ."

Ruby's baby blue eyes rolled at the second comment. "That so? Alrighty then,  _ Minerva _ ," She mockingly drew out. "We're gonna see what Vi an' Lou want you t'do. You do it right, we'll see about makin' things a touch easier on ya. Rinse an' repeat. Understand?" She asked, getting no response. "Ah want an answer, Minerva."

_ Minerva's eyes were closed tight enough to hurt as the whip lashed against her bare back, embedding fiery stripes into the flesh that stung with a pain beyond words. Tears slipped out passed her eyelids, the girl unable to keep them suppressed through her agony. She could hear someone screaming, but it sounds far too inhuman to be her own. At least, she hoped it wasn't hers. "When you're asked a question, you will answer. Do you understand?" Lily demanded, out of sight but overwhelmingly in mind. _

_ "Please, sto-GODNOPLEASE!" The redhead screamed out as yet another blow landed. It felt like the skin was getting flayed off the bone. She couldn't keep herself from sobbing. Abel looked at her evenly as he smoked, leaning against the door. _

_ "It'll go smoother if you bend the knee, kid. You can stop this any time you want." _

_ "I-I… yes. I understand." _

_ For a moment, nothing happened. She thought it might have finally been over until she felt what had to have been the worst strike yet, a straight line of pure agony from the base of her neck to the bottom of her spine. "Yes  _ **_what_ ** _?" _

"Yes ma'am…" She whispered with a hint of fear. Ruby's annoyed expression had long since faded into one of concern. Minerva hadn't realized her vision was wet until that moment. She also hadn't noticed how her fingernails had started digging into her arms hard enough that she could feel it through her aged blue coat. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused on numbing it as much as she could. It was worth it. The pain made her stronger. Safer. Dwelling on it would only weaken her. All she needed to focus on was controlling herself. In an instant, her slipping mask was firmly back in place. "Well? There's no point in wasting daylight. Let's move."

Ruby didn't respond, quietly leading her prisoner towards the admin building. It suited her just as well. Conversation wasn't one of her specialties these days anyway. They were about to go through the doors when the entrance to the dorms suddenly came roaring open as Violet haphazardly threw the thick double door aside. The blonde looked unusually nervous, a worried frown overtaking her features. "Vi? What's goin' on?" Ruby questioned, changing course and catching her attention.

"Have you seen Clementine?"

"She's not in'er room?"

An annoyed snarl came over Minnie's ex. "Fucking obviously, I just came from there!" She snapped. Yeah, that was more like the Violet she knew than the high and mighty heroine shit she'd recently taken up. Ruby took the comment about as expected, indignation clear in her eyes before Violet spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry. Just- where else would she be?"

"Have you checked the greenhouse?" Minerva butted in, mostly wanting to get away from Violet before her thoughts could drift to the girl she was searching for. Their oh-so fearless leader finally seemed to notice her ex-girlfriend standing beside the doctor. Surprise and a hint of relief were carried in her gaze. 

"That- I'll be back. I… I'll see you later, Minnie. Thanks." With that, she bolted off towards the recently reclaimed building. Ruby called after her to no effect, a disappointed sigh escaping her. She glanced at her prisoner, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"How in'th'hell'd you know about that? Ah never told you she hung out there." Ruby demanded incredulously. Minerva gave an almost amused scoff.

"Because your answer to everything is either beating it up or take it gardening. You tried to get me into it too." She replied, a ghost of a smile threatening at the corners of her lips. A memory of a better time. She'd hated it with a passion, but Sophie loved the greenhouse. There probably wasn't anyone more disappointed to lose it than her sister. The reverie evaporated at the flash of Sophie's pale body in her arms. She'd never get to see those glass halls again. A similarly bittersweet look glinted in Ruby's eyes before she shook her head.

"... Welp, guess we're gonna talk t'Louis instead. C'mon now," The medic urged, heading towards the administration building once again. The pair walked through the abnormally quiet foyer of the building, the student turned prisoner somewhat surprised that he wasn't off on his piano. Then again, she knew first-hand how much things could change in a year. She still couldn't that  _ Louis and Violet  _ of all people were the ones to step up. Aasim, Clementine, even Mitch she could picture, but the wallflower and class clown taking charge? It almost felt like a joke. "He should be 'round here somewhere..."

"Ask and you shall receive," Her unexpected savior announced from the balcony. He quickly made his way down to the two redheads. He held one of their jury rigged bows in his hand and an equally patchwork quiver on his back. "Something you need before I head out?"

"What, you huntin' or somethin'?"

"Can you even aim that?" Minerva questioned. She'd never known anyone at the school except Marlon to use a bow, and she had the feeling he didn't share that knowledge before his brains got blown out. It didn't help that the weapon she saw was basically a couple pieces of wood nailed together and a string. He frowned a little at the remark.

"Hi Minnie, good to see you too." He deadpanned. Presumably wanting to keep them from getting into another shouting match, Ruby stepped forward.

"Got anything fer her t'do around the school?"

"Um… do we have any potatoes or something?" He asked with a small smirk. Ruby looked momentarily confused, but Minerva already knew where he was going with it. It was how Sophie spent most of her days in the Delta, after all.

"I'll need a knife, unless you're expecting me to skin them by hand." She said curtly.

"That depends. Promise you won't cut anyone's eyes out?"

The words hung in the air like smoke. Louis' expression hadn't changed at all, but the distrust in his voice said plenty. It was a part of her former friend she hadn't ever seen. She'd seen him pissed, distraught, every negative part of himself he hid from most, but she doubted anyone had ever heard him sound quite so biting. She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it when she found she had nothing to say. She merely looked away. He walked passed them with a shake of his head. "I think Omar has a peeler around here, somewhere. Ask him what he needs and do it… oh, and do it around the others. Better safe than sorry, right?" Louis called out while he walked out the door, leaving the pair and the guard dog alone. 

"... That's that, Ah guess. Let's just make this quick, alright?" Ruby muttered, clearly unnerved. Minerva followed silently. Louis was always full of surprises. As it turns out, competency and vindictiveness was his latest. She'd be impressed if it didn't hurt quite so much.

***

Louis wasn't entirely sure how long they'd been out hunting. It was definitely late-ish afternoon at this point, the blue sky taking on hints of orange as the sun dipped lower towards the horizon. With every hour that passed, he found himself further and further out from the former safe zone. He could still recognize where he was compared to the school, but this area of the woods was definitely less familiar than his personal minefield. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be so far out, but the fact was they needed food and he wanted to get away anyway, so there was really no avoiding it. Regardless, they were far enough out that they were at least finding evidence that prey was nearby which was better than they had found previously. Right now, he and James were following a set of tiny rabbit tracks. Well, more accurately, Louis was following his quiet companion as he followed tracks that the musician simply couldn't spot amongst the dirt and leaves.

He glanced up at him before turning his attention back to the woods around them. In all honesty, James was a little frightening to be around. Despite his ridiculously pacifistic nature, Louis wasn't blind to the former whisperer's predatorlike movements. While he was making enough noise to literally wake the dead, he actually had to look back and make sure James was still following him multiple times before they stumbled across the tracks. His tattered jacket did a good job at concealing the older survivor's build, but he was clearly remarkably strong if their tense meet up was anything to go by. He had the same feeling around James that he did around Minerva and even Clementine to an extent; the unnerving sensation brought on by the knowledge that he'd be completely defenseless if they ever decided to kill him. The fact that he was wearing a mask made out of  _ actual human skin  _ didn't really help.

James suddenly held out a hand, stopping him in his tracks. He pointed to a tree, making Louis squint until he realized there was a rabbit blending in with the wood. "Wait. I'll get close. Be ready," He spoke lowly, already sinking off before the musician could ask what exactly he should be ready to do. Yeah, okay, apparently he had to be a mind reader now. He pulled out his bow once more, notching the arrow and ever so slowly creeping towards the stealthy animal. He could see James quietly approaching it from behind. A long, almost sword-like blade slithered out of a previously unseen sheath on his back. He suddenly went still as the rabbit's head perked up, suspiciously sniffing at the air. The clownish leader half expected it to run away, but after a tense few moments, it returned to its meal. It'd be the last mistake it ever made.

James leapt out blade first in an instant. Louis cringed as James' knife impaled the poor rabbit, the small creature twitching and making terrified chirps until the former whisperer quickly snapped its neck and it went limp. He sheepishly approached the fearsome hunter. He couldn't help but feel bad for the poor thing, despite being more than happy to have something to eat. Empathy played out over the other man's face as he gently removed the body from his knife and handed it to Louis. He reluctantly accepted and put it in his coat pocket, uncomfortably warm against him. "Well, we've got a meal tonight, at least. Nice one, James..." He awkwardly attempted to praise, unsure of how exactly he'd react to the comment. The quiet survivor simply nodded as he cleaned the blade off and wordlessly put it back into its sheath. He tried to ignore the dead weight in his pocket as they continued walking in silence. Well. Remind him to never piss off James. No, no funny extenuating circumstances, just general advice for a long and happy life.

The pair managed to get a couple more hares as they wandered the dense forest, each of them serving to make Louis feel like it at least wasn't a total waste of time. James' appearance kept him from thinking about Violet, at least, so partial success there. He glanced around the treeline, idly checking for any walkers or vaguely edible animals. Trees trees, smoke, trees- wait, what? Louis snapped his eyes back to the flash of only black. Sure enough, a small trail of smoke was rising into the sky from the forest. He poked James' shoulder, nodding up to the billowing blackness. "You ever see any forest fires that look like that?"

A concerned frown came over the hunter's features. "No. That is not natural. People are near…" He warned. Louis stiffened a little. Shit. Was it the Delta? Someone  _ worse _ ? It was chilling to think there could be cruler bastards than Abel and Lily. James glanced back at him. "I will see who they are. Stay here. Be ready to run."

"Maybe take off the mask first? They might not be as cool with talking walkers as we are."

"I'm not going to talk."

The whisperer was once again gone without another word. Louis rolled his eyes with a quiet scoff. Next time he pulled this, he was just gonna leave. The pianist took out Chairles and lazily twirled the weapon in the air. He'd whistle, but he preferred not being shot. Despite his seemingly careless behavior, he was still looking out for any signs of this group's people coming back. A few minutes passed without hide nor hair of James, a bit of worry starting to bubble inside him. What the hell was taking him so long? Did… did he get himself captured? He was capable, sure, but nearly all of his friends were too, and most of them ended up dead. After another minute, he'd had enough waiting. He dropped to a crouch as he started making his way towards the rising smoke, trying to blend in with the dense branches and towers of wood. He silently cursed the crunching leaves under him, constantly fearing that one of those crunches would get the thunderous boom of gunfire in response. As he reached the peak of the small hill and looked downward, his heart sank, his fears having come true. He could see James face up on the ground, remaining statuesque while two people seemed to be interrogating him at gunpoint. It was difficult to see exact details from this distance, but what he could see painted a vivid enough picture. The one keeping a pistol trained on the whisperer looked to be getting up in the years, streaks of grey interrupting his matte black hair. A green vest rested over an aged yellow shirt, what looked like a spare magazine just barely peeking out from one of the pockets. A stern and impatient look adorned his olive skin as he glared at Louis' (not quite a) friend. The man's partner looked to be a relatively slender black woman, her arms crossed and hair tied in a tight bun. He could see the walker mask held in her grip. Shit, this was bad. Super bad. Louis could begin to hear his heart thumping in his ears as he dared to draw closer to the scene eerily reminiscent of Clementine's own holdup a month prior. He could finally hear their voices after a few moments. "-bullshit. We know its you. I won't ask you again: tell us where the rest of your people are or I put you down right now." The man demanded, his tone even more threatening than the words themselves.

"I did not attack you, and there is no one else." James replied. It must not have been the first time he said it based on the frustrated scowl that overcame the intimidating human's face.

"Fine. Then I guess we're done here," He spat out, raising the pistol to the younger man's head. 

Panic filled Louis at the sight of this stranger about to shoot James. Was he about to watch an execution? No, he couldn't let that happen. He quickly took his bow off his back and shakily loaded an arrow. Mind racing, he did the only thing he could think of. He let out a long, loud whistle. "Hey, dickhead! Over here!" The pianist shouted at the top of his lungs. Both the strangers swirled over to look in his direction. He could tell the man saw him, his pistol raising to counter the new threat. Shit, shit, shit, PLEASE hit this time-!

The arrow pierced through his target's leg, the man letting out a shout of pain as he fired, the shot thankfully going wide and hitting a tree a yard or so away. He ducked down before the stranger could have a chance to recover, bolting to the right as he heard multiple voices shouting. Okay, cool, he probably saved James, now he had to get the hell out of here alive. The air blew his dreads out behind him as he ran for dear life, swerving around tree after tree in an attempt to dodge the gunshots he heard firing from behind. He didn't know if they were meant for him, or even if they were coming in his direction at all, but it was still all the motivation he needed to book it. He tried to shake out the stupid distractions his mind was throwing in front of him with every step. No, Geoff the Turtle's birthday would be of little help against the raiders currently trying to turn him into a pincushion. He let out a startled cry as he felt something very hot whiz by his head and splinter the old bark in front of him. Okay, they were absolutely shooting at him, no doubt about it anymore. He veered off to the right instead.

He completely lost track of how long he'd been running and where in the forest he was. It felt like hours, but the sun had barely budged since the chase started, so it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Louis couldn't hear any pursuing footsteps anymore, completely drowned out by the sound of his own fear. He refused to take the chance that they weren't still behind him. Even as his legs ached and lungs burned, he was still too terrified to even consider stopping. He hadn't been this scared since the boat, only this time, there'd be no Violet or Clementine to save him. As far as he knew, the only ones around for miles were these new raiders and himself. Louis just kept running through it all. After a short eternity, he finally risked glancing behind him. All that awaited him was the ever-present curtain of trees. He scanned the treeline as best he could while still moving, but he couldn't find any hints of his would-be killers. A wave of relief washed over him... until something very hard slammed into him. Or, more accurately, he slammed into it. Louis was groaning before he even realized he was on the ground, new ached joining old ones in his battered body. "Fucking spectacular, Louis. Real impressive," He scolded himself with a hiss as he unsteadily pulled himself back to his feet. He'd managed to knock the wind out of himself running into that tree much to his chagrin. His heart was still going a mile a minute in his chest, but he could deal with that right now. The bigger priority was getting back to the school and avoiding whoever the hell he just made an enemy out of. Of course, there was one slight problem with that: he had exactly zero clue where he was. He didn't know if he was north or south of the school, east or west, anything that might tip him off on how to get back. 

He sighed as he briefly rested against the tree, looking up at the sky. Well, this idea turned out great, didn't it? Ruby would probably kill him herself for making them worry so much if he made it back. If? No, when. He  _ would  _ make it back to the school, that much was a certainty. He shook his head. He needed to focus. The young survivor looked up to the sun. Wait… the sun! It was in the direction he'd been running, so he must've been going west. In that case… if he kept going west, sooner or later, he'd hit the river. When he did, he could just follow it downstream back to the school! His smile went wide at the realization. This could still workout. Hell, if he hurried, he might even make it back in time for dinner. No longer having the energy to run, he began to limp along his imaginary path. 

***

Mess duty was hardly a foreign concept to the redheaded raider. It was something that just had to be done by  _ someone _ , and in the Delta, it usually fell to new 'recruits'. She had spent weeks doing it when she and Sophie were taken. Sophie never really advanced beyond it with all the time she spent being disciplined. The work was deceptively simple. The entire point of it as a punishment was to basically bore a soldier into behaving. It was pretty much being a busgirl and cook with less respect. In truth, she hadn't minded it that much, at least compared to most of her former home's punishments. At least her handlers in the Delta didn't try making small talk.

"... Awful nice weather, ain't it?" Ruby said to no one in particular in an attempt to break the suffocating quiet. Minerva just stared at her in response as she continued peeling the half-skinned potato in her hands. Omar was similarly taciturn, the perfectionist chef focusing intently on his stew. To say the situation was awkward would be an understatement. The prisoner hadn't spoken since her tense exchange with Louis which only exasperated the uncomfortable air that settled over them. She'd spent most of the day just doing odd jobs for Omar under Rosie and Ruby's watchful eyes. They might have preferred if she spoke, showed some sign of the old talkative Minnie. In truth, though, Minerva simply didn't care. She didn't have anything to say. No point in wasting her breath on useless words. Besides, the one person at the school she actually wanted to see was notably absent.

"Where's Tenn?"

"Huh? Oh, Tenn wasn't feelin' great this mornin. Told'em to get some rest. Ain't nothin' serious. Should be right as rain tomorra."

Minerva frowned and turned away from the medic. Willie had taken over watch duty from Aasim around two, the young boy spending almost as much time shooting daggers at her as he did keeping an eye on the forest. Aasim had mercifully occupied himself with his writing rather than try chatting with her. Her eyes briefly flicked over to one of the few functional tables towards the front of the courtyard. Violet sat with Clementine and AJ, a look of genuine happiness on the often dour blonde. The reason why was blindingly obvious in the way she looked at the blind girl. It was a rare sight, but it wasn't the only thing that caught her eye. Minerva had never seen Clementine smile before. It was almost… unnatural, to see her so at ease. It fit her better than the bitter scowl she'd grown to mentally associate her with. That did nothing to sooth the bitterness she felt at the sight. It wasn't reasonable of course. Even back in the day, she and Vi were only barely getting into romance before she got taken. It shouldn't bother her to see Violet with someone else. It probably wouldn't… if it were anyone  _ but  _ Clementine. That reckless moron had nearly gotten them all killed, and yet they treated her like a hero. Mitch was dead because of her plan. Her son shot Marlon, and though she didn't shed a tear at the news, he was still one of them. Hell, maybe Marlon wouldn't have killed Brody if it weren't for Clementine. Every death could be tied back to her. And yet there Violet was, smiling and acting like the brunette was anything other than a bad luck charm.

"Oh, shit! People!" Willie shrilly announced, the boy already drawing his bow. No… no no no. The only ones this far out other than the school were the Delta or… 

Minerva's blood ran cold.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm interested to see theories/guesses on who Louis' new enemies are.


	13. Trying Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strangers arrive at Ericson's doorstep. Violet goes to confront them while Clementine attempts to evacuate the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to see whose theories checked out!

_"I am pointing out that, regardless of intent, there are consequences for rash actions._

_Something that he seems to be misreading as capitulation."_

Violet was on her feet instantly. More strangers? This could be bad. Maybe worse than the Delta's raid, considering they were down their two best fighters. The fact that these people were out here while Louis and James were still gone didn't help her rapidly increasing stress. She went to walk to the gate, but was stopped by a hand taking her wrist. "Wait," Clementine spoke, a grim expression on her face. "Don't let them see you before you know who they are. They might shoot you."

"I'll be careful, Clem. Promise." She soothed, the blind brunette's features softening a little.

"You better. Stay with me, AJ."

Violet turned to the admin building at the sound of raising voices to find Ruby and Minerva arguing, the former keeping the latter from going towards the gate while a nervous looking Omar tried his best to keep her ex away from the medic. Curious as she was about it, they didn't have time for it. "Clem, until I'm back, you're in charge. Get everyone ready to get the fuck out of here if we have to, alright?" She instructed. Clem's momentary surprise gave way to a determined nod before she quickly made her way over to it, AJ following by her side. She refocused on the gate and began towards it. "Aasim, come on." The blonde whispered to him. He wordlessly gave a nod and fell into line behind her.

***

Even in the sprawling void of nothingness that had been her vision for the past two weeks, Clementine knew most of the school like the back of her hand. This included the backdoor escape route they'd set up in preparation for Lily's attack, though as far as she knew, it had never been used amongst the panic and chaos of the raid. She'd taken a much more direct route when she fell off the balcony, after all. Regardless, the route existed, and that was her plan if things went south. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of leaving Violet and Aasim to deal with the mystery group but she was painfully aware that there was precisely nothing she could do in a gunfight except weigh them down. The blonde was trusting her with keeping them safe, so that was exactly what she was going to do. Besides… if things did go bad, and she lost Violet… losing AJ too would be it. She couldn't bear to think about losing either, but AJ could keep her going without Vi. Without him, there simply wasn't any point, even with her. It was better for him to be far, far away from whatever disaster might be waiting at the gates.

Her grip on the young boy tightened a little, though whether it was to reassure him or herself she wasn't sure. He thankfully didn't bring any attention to it like he might've before her capture. AJ seemed to let her get away with a lot more 'mom' behaviors these days. Neither felt the need to talk about it, merely glad to still have each other despite everything. She was grateful to have him with her as she drew closer to the administrative building and the voice that personified her hate and bile finally reached her ears. "-the fuck go of me, Omar, or I swear to god-"

"Minnie, stop right this damn instant! No way in hell we're lettin' you anywhere near a buncha strangers, let alone-" Ruby's threatening rant suddenly stopping as she apparently noticed the already aggravated girl. "Clementine? What-"

"Clem's in charge. Vi said she could." AJ proudly announced. Clementine didn't really hear the words. Her attention was entirely on the person she knew to be standing just a few short feet away. The person that murdered their own sister and shoved a knife through her eyes. _The person that ruined her life_. It was like she could sense the evil girl's presence even if she'd never said a word, just that cold, instinctual dread that settled in her stomach in her presence, the same she'd get when thinking about the man on her radio so long ago or Carver's vulturine gaze. She could hear her struggling against Omar's strong grip, kicking at the chef desperately to little avail. Her knuckles paled from the pressure she was clenching them with when Minerva spoke again.

"Then she's stupid _and_ suicidal. She has no idea-" The redhead suddenly stopped talking, a pained grunt sounding off instead. Her right hand gave a familiar slight ache that felt more satisfying than hurtful. Wait… had she punched Minerva? She didn't remember lifting her arm up. She wouldn't have minded decking the obnoxious and insidious fuck if she had actually _intended_ to. The fact that she didn't realize what she was doing until after it happened disturbed her. No… no, she'd been in control since the boat. Clem couldn't fall back into that horrible blackout of rage again. "Clementine!" Ruby gasped out. A bit of sheepishness bubbled in her at her friend's shock.

Minerva spat something out and the guilt instantly evaporated at the words that followed. "Fucking moron! She's going to get herself killed, and you're letting it happen!"

"Sorry, I didn't see her there," Clem unapologetically dismissed with a spiteful sneer. She found herself falling into old habits as she put her left hand on her hip and put on the most confident tone she could manage. "Ruby, get Minerva restrained. If you can, gag her. Omar, get Tenn. When you do, we wait by the back gate and wait for Violet's signal." The blind brunette ordered self-assuredly. For everything that's gone wrong, her plans generally held up well.

"And when she doesn't give it because you all let her go out there to die?!" Minerva spat. This time, Clementine intentionally punched the bitch.

"Then I run out of reasons to leave you alive." Clementine growled. She startled slightly as a hand pushed her back.

"Woah, woah! Le's not kill 'chother 'fore they even get inside, aright?" The country girl attempted to peacemake, her accent becoming thicker as the stress got to her more. Clementine felt somewhat embarrassed that she was letting Minerva get to her so easily, but her boiling anger far exceeded it. She felt a small hand take hers. Some of the fury left her at AJ's comfort, the action also serving to remind her of the task at hand. She had to put up with Minerva until she was sure they were safe. She couldn't let her grudge get any of her friends killed. Taking a steadying breath and doing her best to tune out Minerva's rapid fire threats, she undid her belt and held it out for use as make-do handcuffs. "Alright. Use this to tie her hands. AJ, you have your gun?"

"Yeah." He confirmed, the spurring noise of the cylinder spinning before locking back into place with a metallic _click_ confirming it to her.

"Good. Aim at Minerva-" She felt his hand leave hers, already moving to comply with her order.

"Clementine, no! Whatinthhelleryou-"

"-But don't shoot unless you have to," She finished forcefully. Clem could feel the already tense atmosphere become almost smothering at the order. Minerva's resistance came to a halt, her grunts of defiance and exertion now replaced by deceptively calm and deep breaths. She couldn't hold back a grim smile knowing how much her redheaded nemesis must absolutely despise being at her mercy."If she does anything to escape or hurt one of you, you know what to do."

There was a slight hesitation to his young voice. "... But… she doesn't have a gun or anything. Isn't this like Marlon?"

"Yes" and "No" simultaneously came from Ruby and Clem respectively. Clem would've rolled her eyes if she could. "This is different because the point is to keep her from becoming a threat. As long as you don't shoot unless she makes you, it's not murder."

"That's not right," Omar spoke up, concern clear in his voice. Was it for her, AJ, or Minerva? Maybe all of them? "You can't-"

"What I _can't_ do is sit around arguing. We have to hurry. You can trust me, or we can die. What sounds better to you?" Clementine interrupted, a hint of desperosity leaking into her determined voice. Why did they have to fight her on this? This wasn't some unreasonable and paranoia-fuled decision, this was the smart thing to do when the prisoner in question has a habit for violence and the training to beat them. They didn't give a response, but the soft clattering of a belt buckle and the sound of fastening leather made it clear they were at least willing to play along for now, much to the blind Georgian's relief. With Minerva restrained and the others  listening to her, Clementine's confidence bolstered. "Thank you. Alright, Omar, go get Tenn and meet us at-"

A gunshot pierced the night air. It thundered in the vast courtyard as Clementine's heartbeat skyrocketed. She swirled to face the danger on instinct only to be met with the same uncaring darkness as always. Indistinguishable yelling followed soon after. "God damn it, I told you this would happen! Ruby, let me go!"

"What, so you can help those bastards out an' kill us? Like hell."

This was going nowhere fast. No, worse than that. They were marching into an early grave by standing around. "Fuck it," She muttered in annoyance. Clementine drew her knife and turned away from them. "Get to the safe point. AJ and I will get Tenn."

"Clem, you're-"

"Blind?! I fucking noticed! Just go!" She shouted, completely out of patience. For all she knew, Violet was already dead. Determined as they might be to die, Clem promised her girlfriend she'd keep them safe, and there was no way she'd break that oath. She dropped to a running crouch, trying to keep low and stick to where she remembered cover being. She heard AJ following closely behind. She tilted her head towards the gate to try to make out what was going on. They still hadn't continued fire for whatever reason. Their mistake. To her disappointment, the voices still blended together in a messy blur of noise. Worry for her friends at the gate clawed at her mind until it was simply unignorable. "AJ, can you see them? Just get a quick look, don't let them see you."

A few moments of silence passed, Clem quietly dreading another gunshot would break out each time. "There's a lady pointing a gun at Violet," He whispered in alarm. Conflicting emotions surged on her. On the one hand, that meant Violet was still alive. On the other, she might not be for very long. She adjusted her grip on the knife. There wasn't anything she could do, not like this or without putting AJ in danger. "Aasim, Willie- Louis! They've got Louis!" AJ's voice raised with far too much fear and fury for a child his size. Clementine grimaced. This was rapidly getting worse. Both their leaders, their best hunter, and one of their youngest members all captured already? "We've gotta save them, Clem!"

"We can't, AJ, there's too many of them. We only have one gun and I can't see. If we try to help right now, we'll just get captured too." The sightless survivor insisted. It killed her to not go out and save them right then and there, but there was no point in a suicide mission that likely wouldn't even work. She shook her head in attempt to clear her mind. Grab Tenn. Get to the exit. Regroup and save their friends. Not the most solid plan she's ever had, but for the moment, it would have to do. She took a few more steps towards the dorm, but stopped when she realized she couldn't hear her son's soft footfalls beside her. "AJ?"

"... No, Clem."

"What?"

"No. We can't leave them."

"AJ-"

"That night when Lily came and took you, Violet said we couldn't go after you." He said sadly. She turned to face him.

"She was right."

"But you got hurt because we didn't! I don't want them to hurt any more of my friends!" Her charge pleaded, making the girl's face harden.

"Alvin Junior, this is not a discussion. We have to get to the dorms. We can't-" Clementine reached out to touch his shoulder, only to find empty air in his place. Confusion quickly gave way to dread and then terror. "AJ? AJ?!"

"Let my friends go!"

**_NO._ **

***

**A Few Minutes Prior**

Violet crept towards the gate, keeping low to avoid being seen while trying to get a decent look at the people there. A dark skinned woman in a patchy coat slowly approached with her hands up, looking to Willie in the banister. "Don't shoot, alright? I'm not gonna hurt you. I just need a bit of help."

Her lips thinned. "Are you armed?" She called out, hiding behind the stone wall. No response came at first, their mystery woman presumably trying to find the source of the voice. "It's yes or no. Say one."

"Yes." She called back.

"Throw it towards the gate," Violet continued. After a few seconds, the _clack_ of a dropped gun sounded off. A small amount of relief filled Violet. Okay, maybe these people weren't _as_ psychotically assholish. "Are there more of you?"

"Yes. A friend and I got attacked today, and he got pretty hurt. I was gonna scout this place out to see if we could stop for the night. Wasn't as abandoned as I thought. Sorry I interrupted, okay? We'll just keep moving."

Violet cautiously opened up the gate, quickly grabbing the gun from the dirt. It was surprisingly heavy in her hand, clearly fully loaded. She held it tightly, knowledgeable enough about guns to at least not hug the trigger if she didn't want to fire. The woman had shifted her attention to the school's leader as she walked halfway towards her from the gate. She took a moment to look over the new arrival. Her hair was held in a tight bun that kept her dark hair neatly in place, not entirely unlike Clem's own minibun. She had on a faded black leather coat, the once slick material stained and scarred from years of use. Dark bags hung under her weary eyes. One thing was certain; she wasn't lying about needing a place to stay. Whether the school should be that place was a different story. "What's your name?" Aasim piped up, Violet glancing back to find him standing next to her before glaring at him. Great, now whoever she was knew there were at least three of them.

"Christa."

"Where are your people, Christa?" He continued.

"Around."

Violet scowled at her. "Great, real specific. Totally makes you sound trustworthy." She derided.

Christa shook her head. "Look, I don't know you. It's not worth the risk."

Aasim stepped forward. "Then you get our problem: you know where we are now. We don't know your friends are gonna show up and burn our home to the ground or not," The scholarly student pointed out. Christa looked at him with something between sympathy and distrust. He held out a hand. "There's not a lot of people left. The fact that we're talking at all shows neither of us are lunatics, doesn't it? We're both taking a chance here, and I don't take chances lightly. You need help, we need reassurances. Why not get both together?"

Violet glanced at him in the corner of her eye, mildly impressed. He definitely had the rousing speech part of leadership down better than her or Louis. Hell, that speech had nearly won her over. Still, she trusted this woman about as much as she did the average walker. A few moments of silence passed before the enigmatic survivor took his offered hand.

"It's clear!" She called out into the woods, a hint of relief poking through her measured tone. A duo of survivors slowly emerged from the trees. Two men stood before them, one of them walking with an obvious limp.

The limper in question was a older man with an imposing figure even despite his clearly injured leg. Dried blood stained his right pantleg a dark red, corroborating the story about getting attacked. His yellow shirt and green vest had clearly seen better days, but based on that ugly burn scar on his neck, so had he. He glared at them suspiciously. "You said it was clear. Who the hell are they?"

"The only people for miles that can help you." Violet snarked back. He looked unimpressed by the remark, but fuck him for opening a conversation with that.

"She's got a point, cap. Not sure we should piss them off right at the start," The final member spoke up. He was Asian and thinner than the other man, notably less bulky, but seemingly an inch or two taller. A tattered (once upon a time) white dress shirt and dark red tie rested beneath a scratched and torn suit jacket that hung loose and unbuttoned at his sides. A battered set of thin rectangular glasses made him stand out from the others despite the small cracks that littered the lenses. His eyes flicked to the pistol in her hand and then to Christa. "Especially when we're giving them guns."

"Christa, what the fu-"

"I know, David. Just trust me on this, alright?" Their intermediary interrupted. His glare quickly turned to her, jaw locking in annoyance. Wanting to break up the tension, the one-time arsonist of Ericson's cleared his throat and drew their attention.

"Aasim," He introduced himself. He nodded towards the annoyed blonde. "That's Violet."

The man in the suit gave a light bow with one hand behind his back and the other over his heart. She couldn't decide if it was a genuine show of respect from an eccentric or a sarcastic greeting from an asshole. Maybe both. "People call me Jack, aside from my dower friend over there. He calls me dickhead."

The hardass watched her like a hawk with a scowl. She resisted the urge to flip him off. He reminded her far, far too much of Ericson himself with even less charm. Still, being the leader meant she couldn't just tell everyone to fuck off even when it was most appropriate to. The moody teen settled for merely crossing her arms at them, Christa's pistol poking out as a reminder to not try anything. "So… are you with anyone?"

"What you see is what you get, for better or worse." Jack replied with a small shrug. Violet shook her head.

"No, are you _with_ anyone? Like a bigger group? Community, maybe?" The distrustful teenager pressed. The tan man, David as he was apparently called, fixed her with a skeptical look.

"Are you? You're what, nineteen, twenty? Pretty young for it to just be you, that guy, and a kid. Big building as well." He observed, Violet's gaze hardening.

"I need an answer if you want our help, so stop bullshiting me. It's that or you can ask the walkers." The blonde brashly challenged.

"We've had some… bad experiences with other groups before. Want to avoid making the same mistakes, you know?" Aasim quickly clarified.

"Everyone has."

She was quickly running out of patience for these strangers. Suddenly, something broke out of the treeline, breathing heavily. Louis looked absolutely exhausted, sweat pouring down his face and soaking his shirt and signature coat. Relief and concern shot up in Violet at the sight. Where the hell had he been all day? He hunched over, supporting himself by grabbing his knees while he struggled for breath. "Guys… we, we have a problem! James and I ran into some people and…" He trailed off as his attention turned to the small group of people outside the gate. A beat passed without anyone speaking, the two groups just sitting in a tense silence only interrupted by their own heartbeats. "... Oh, fuck."

Everything went to hell at that moment. The new arrivals drew their guns which in turn caused the students to ready their own weaponry. Violet felt her pulse quicken as the tension exploded into full on standoff. Louis barely managed to get his bow into his hands when David shot him in the leg, her best friend falling to one knee with a cry of pain. She pointed her stolen pistol at the man she'd been about to help mere seconds prior with a shout. "Don't you fucking dare!" She growled, catching his attention and making him freeze. Aasim found himself trapped in place by one of the strangers. Willie was aiming at them with a panic clear all over him, seemingly only held back by not knowing if he should risk the shot or not. Violet kept a steady aim on the injured man pointing his piece at Louis even as her blood boiled at the sudden betrayal. "Put it the fuck down right now!"

"Take your own advice!" Christa warned, a quick glance showing the woman had a second pistol a few inches from the blonde's head. Despite the harsh tone, fear was evident on the older survivor's face. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't let him go, whatever happens here is on you."

The leader of the school glared at her hatefully. "He'll kill Louis if I do. Fuck that and you!"

"I promise you he won't if you just drop it!"

"You also promised you weren't going to hurt us, and now Lou's fucking shot!" She howled out. How DARE these people do this when they were about to help them?!

"They're the ones hitting our caravans. This proves it."

"They're kids for god's sake, David! Scared kids that just saw a friend get shot by strangers. This doesn't mean anything."

"You know those fuckers use child soldiers. They're either Delta or break offs of it." He spat out, refusing to move the gun away from the wounded pianist. Confusion poked through the pain on Louis' face.

"Wait, you think- dude, we almost died fighting the Delta! We haven't seen anyone _but_ them in years!" He argued through clenched teeth, trying to keep pressure on the no-doubt agonizing wound. She could practically see the words go through one ear and out the other. A part of her was petrified by the idea that this might be how they all die, but it was completely overwhelmed by the desire to shove an arrow through the enemy leader's brain.

"You attacked us. Or are you going to tell me it was some other kid with dreadlocks and a trenchcoat?"

"... If I said yes, would you believe me?" Louis quipped, a small, shaky smile at the corner of his lips. Violet stared at him in disbelief. Was he insane? If he died because the dumbass couldn't stop joking for five minutes...

"Funny. Now, give me an answer or I give you another bullet."

"Okay, okay," Louis hissed out, wincing at his still bleeding leg. "I shot that arrow, but you were going to kill one of ours. I just wanted you to let him go. If you weren't holding him at gunpoint, I would've loved having a nice conversation over some room-temperature tea. I swear I'm usually a lot chattier than when we met."

Christa was visibly conflicted. "That guy in the walker suit? Look, kid, I doubt he had-"

"Let my friends go!" A young voice demanded. Louis' pained face transformed into a look of absolute horror as Violet's own heart dropped like a box of rocks. Her breath hitched at the sight of AJ standing at the gate with his revolver drawn. No, no, he shouldn't be here-

A terrified Clementine appeared by his side and quickly stepped in front of him. "AJ, get back!" She ordered, grabbing the gun out of his hands. The previous spike of fear had just infinitely increased itself at her appearance.

"He shot Louis!" The boy exclaimed angrily, pain and anger flashing on the blind girl's face at the news, but she refused to stop shielding AJ. Jack had quickly turned his gun on Clem and AJ instead of Aasim and Willie. Pure panic encompassed Violet at that moment.

_"Nofucknofucknopleasedontshoot-"_

"C-Clementine…?" Christa asked, looking like she'd seen a ghost. Violet's scowl deepened. Great, another old friend of Clem's with a grudge. The girl in question froze at the voice, looking directly at them without seeing a thing. Christa's fellow members seemed nearly as confused as the girl she was calling out to, David Jack both momentarily looking away from their targets to see what the hell their leader was talking about. The forest had once again gone dead silent with only Louis' grunts and gasps emerging through the quiet. Clem hesitantly took a step forward.

"How do you know my name?" The blind girl questioned uneasily. Violet let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Christa's gun slowly retracted from her skull and went back in the woman's jacket. Her gaze refocused on David, whose own expression was one of shock. He, however, seemed to be focused on the angry and confused child hidden behind his mentor. Christa approached Clementine the same way someone would for a scared cat, almost like she wasn't sure the girl was real.

"Clem… you… you're… oh my god. I… drop the guns."

"Christa-" Jack spoke up, clearly not on board with this plan.

"Do it!" She hissed. Violet relaxed slightly as the invaders reluctantly lowered their weapons. She looked to her friends, internally debating whether they should follow suit.

"... Christa? I- how are you…" Clem gasped out as she slowly holstered her knife and gun. She walked up to the stranger, the two staring at each other for a moment before the teenager launched into a hug. Well… if that wasn't an endorsement, nothing was. She slowly let her gun lower before relaxing her arm entirely. Willie compiled at her nod, though his scowl made it clear he had a problem with it. She could deal with it later. Right now, she had to figure out what the hell was going on.

***

Clementine felt like she was in a dream.

Her arms squeezed her long lost friend as tightly as she could manage, her breath becoming ragged at the sudden spike of emotions in her. Christa quickly returned the embrace, a tight, comforting hold that reminded Clem of those early days after Lee's death. "Clementine… oh my god, it's really you…" Christa murmured in her ear. She could feel tears pooling in her eye. Was this real? It definitely felt real, but so did her dreams of Lee and Kenny and everyone else. Was this just a more convoluted one of those dreams? Maybe she'd wake up back on the floor of the greenhouse, passed out in her fit of despair. It'd be her luck for it all to have been a figment of her imagination. But… even if it wasn't really happening, she'd be damned if she didn't use the opportunity.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Christa."

"What-"

"For Omid, and the baby, and letting you get taken by those bastards in the woods. I-I looked for you, but…" She trailed off, burying herself closer into the woman's chest. She felt a hand rub the back of her head.

"... I had a long time to think about that, Clem. And you know what I found out? I should be the one apologizing." Her old friend soothed. Clem shook her head.

"If I didn't-"

"You were just a kid, Clementine. A little girl thrown into fucked up situation after fucked up situation, and I was too sucked up in how much it hurt me that I didn't think of you. I'm sorry I gave up on you," Christa interrupted, her voice carrying the sort of old pain in it she'd hear on her own whenever she talked about her past. She silently stewed on the unneeded apology, still completely distracted by Christa returning over the woman's actual words. A few moments passed before she felt Christa break the hug, making her reluctantly let go. She felt both hands gently cup her face. "I can't even imagine what you've been through all these years. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again."

It felt bittersweet to hear. She was ecstatic herself, of course, but it had been so long that she didn't even fully recognize Christa's voice. All she had to picture her with were fuzzy mental images at least six years out of date. She couldn't see what her former guardian looked like after all this time. Managing to hide it behind a small smile, she replied, "Me too."

"Clementine." A familiar, deep voice addressed from the right of Christa. She crossed her arms at the man she'd practically devoted herself to killing just a few years prior.

"David."

"I see you got AJ back. Good. After McCarol fell, we weren't sure where you ended up." He said, managing to sound about as genuine as her former commander could manage.

"We managed. I'll only say this once: shoot one of my friends again and I'll make you wish we were the Delta. Got it?" She threatened, tone sharper than a knife.

"He won't. I'll make sure of it," Christa assured. "... Wait, how do you know Clementine?"

"Long story," The blind brunette dismissed without further elaboration.

"Clem, who are these guys? How do they know our names? He shot Louis. Isn't he bad?" AJ asked as he stepped out from behind her. Clem smiled fondly at him.

"AJ, this is Christa. I told you about how she took care of me when I was little. David…" She struggled to think of a way to explain it without getting sidetracked on some bitter rant. "Was in a group with me, a long time ago. He won't be hurting anyone else."

"Hey there, sweetie." The long lost woman greeted warmly. She could practically hear AJ crossing his arms.

"It's Alvin Junior."

A lightly amused scoff escaped the older woman. Clem smirked at him. "It's that or goofball, goofball." She taunted. She laughed at his annoyed huff before shaking her head.

"Aasim, help me with Louis." Violet's voice ordered in the background, snapping Clem from her reunion and back into reality. Shit, Louis. She stepped back, handing AJ's gun back to the young boy. The teenage survivor had to help her wounded friend before starting any more pleasantries.

"AJ, how about you get to know Christa for a bit?"

***

Violet watched Christa hawkishly while she made her way towards Louis and applied pressure to his wound.

"Who the hell is she?" She whispered to her fellow leader. He gave a slight shrug only to hiss as the movement made his grip on the bullet hole weaken.

"No clue. All I know is she was with Quickdraw McGraw over there. Think she's Lily two-point-oh?" He said in an equally hushed tone. The blonde glanced at the fucker that did this to Louis, fixing him with a threatening glare. "Ow, ow, Vi! Ease up on the deathgrip!"

She mumbled out an apology. Christ, she really hoped second time was the charm. They barely survived the Delta's assault when Clementine was at her prime. Repairs had only just begun to deal with the damage. If they had to fight again so soon after last time… she shook the thoughts from her head. She couldn't think about that right now. The best thing she could do was make sure she didn't do anything unsavory to Clem right now. Her anger briefly faded as she watched Clementine reunite with whoever this woman was to her. She could see streaks of tears rolling down both their faces. This was definitely more of a reaction than her friend had meeting up with Lily for the first time. It had to be someone close to her. They were talking, but Violet couldn't get a good read on either's lips. "Why did you shoot this guy, Louis? They were talking about James. Is he alive?"

Louis looked away with a frown. "No idea. I bought him some time, but we ran in different directions. So… definitely 'maybe', at least," Her old friend informed, sounding a touch more optimistic by the end. It certainly didn't help her first impressions of the group. She and James weren't close enough to be called friends, but if they fucking murdered him, she'd be damned if she took that lying down. She found her hand subconsciously drifting towards her cleaver when David walked up to Clem and AJ. He was clearly willing to shoot kids, and now he was mere feet away from the best thing she had in this world. Louis' hand softly grabbed hers before it could actually touch the weapon. "Woah, easy, Vi. I don't like this either, but I'll like it a lot less if we both end up shot. Eyes or no eyes, Clem can handle herself."

"A wise choice," A voice praised to their right, Violet's gaze snapping up and instantly hardening into a glare. Jack stood with his hands held up in a show of good faith. He frowned a little at her harsh look. "I'm sorry to interrupt, and to eavesdrop for that matter. I merely wanted to apologize. I can't speak for David, but Christa and I had no intent for a standoff."

"Go fuck yourself," She hissed, clearly taking the man that looked just a few years her senior by surprise. "You pointed a gun at a goddamn six year old. Your friend shot mine. If she didn't know Clem," She pointed towards Christa, who was saying something to David while Clementine glared at him. "I'd put a bullet in all of you."

"Good thing they're friends then, right? Shootouts were never really my thing." Louis quickly interjected in an attempt to break the tension. A small smirk came to the well-dressed stranger.

"Same here."

Violet gave out a frustrated huff, but refocused on keeping pressure on the wound. "Can you walk?"

He gave a light, pained laugh. "Not right now, but I'll be doing a lot of that pretty soon here."

She frowned at him. "Jesus, Lou. Don't talk like that. Aasim, help me with Louis," She ordered, the somewhat frazzled looking watchman quickly joining her. "We have to get him to Ruby. Help me lift."

The pair managed to hold up their injured friend with some effort, Louis being deceptively heavily compared to his frame. Clementine quickly arrived by their side. "What can I do?" Her girlfriend asked, a frown coming to Violet's lips. In truth? Basically nothing in this instant that someone else couldn't help more with. Of course, she sure as hell wasn't about to say that to the girl that admitted to feeling useless. Fumbling to come up with something to do that didn't inadvertently put Louis at risk, she was thankful when Aasim came to her rescue.

"When we get inside, help Ruby with Louis while we deal with them." He instructed, Clem giving a nod and quickly running back to the school, presumably to find and inform the medic. Chances are Ruby wouldn't approve of having yet another patient to care for, the redhead now up to at least two full time patients plus whatever random injuries were encountered during daily chores. This wouldn't help their situation with medical supplies, either. But… as much as she despised this new group already, they seemed pretty well equipped, and at the very least weren't part of the Delta. Clementine clearly had connections with them somehow, deeper and more meaningful than Lily had been. Despite all this bullshit, if it could really help the school… _maybe_ she could consider letting this standoff slide and talking about trade.

She narrowed her eyes as she approached Christa, David and AJ on the way to the gate. "If you're done being triggerhappy assholes, we can talk about you staying here for the night. Toss the guns and you can come inside. Make sure it's all of them this time."

"Smooth as silk, Vi. Always good to start negotiations off with an insult." Louis snarked. Her glare was enough to prove she wasn't in the mood to be fucked with right now, making the hapless comedian shut up for once. Christa carefully removed her standby pistol that had been against Violet's temple mere minutes prior before putting it on the ground. AJ quickly took it, sticking it with his revolver. It was almost funny to see him with a gun about as big as his legs, but the reality of him being the most qualified to use and collect the weapons was a sobering one. Jack followed suit soon after, leaving only the main attacker left.

"David…" Christa said. His lips thinned in annoyance.

"Who's leading this operation again, Christa?" David rebuked her. "I'm not walking into an unknown town without a weapon."

"Then you're not walking in. Everything you just did, and you think I'll let you wave a gun around at my friends? Fuck you." She spat.

The apparent leader of the group flowered at her. "Listen, you little-"

"God's sakes, David, just drop it. If they wanted us dead, they would have done it already. Unless you want to be limping away from the dead all night, you're gonna have to get over it."

A few beats passed of the two strangers simply staring each other down. Finally, one of them relented. He gave a mirthless scoff as he pulled his gun out and lazily dropped it on the dirt. "End of the world and teenagers are still giving me fucking attitude."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Welcome to Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youths."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Context for soon-to-be relevant S3 choices:
> 
> Clementine stole the medicine for AJ  
> She fought David to keep AJ (imagine an actual struggle instead of just glare it is in-game)  
> Javi let David in despite Clem trying to kill him  
> Javi kept Clem from killing Lingard  
> Javi took Clint's deal  
> Clem and Javi went to save Gabe together  
> Javi promised to step up and lead Richmond
> 
> And so David and Christa return! A rough start, but The Walking Dead isn't exactly known for smooth, happy reunions. Always a caveat. Also featuring the debut of the first original character in the book, Jack! He didn't have a whole lot to do this chapter, but I'm curious to see how people will take to him.
> 
> If you're wondering why Minerva didn't just break out of Omar's hold, the intention was that he had too good a grip on her. Seeing as how the game gave him about two minutes of dialogue across a ten hour season, I feel I can take some liberties with his character and say he happens to be really fucking strong. I dunno, Chef God power.
> 
> As I was told last chapter Ruby's dialogue was a little hard to understand, I have translations for the most stylized parts.  
> "Woah, woah! Le's not kill 'chother 'fore they even get inside, aright?" = "Let's not kill each other before they even get inside, alright?"  
> "Whatinthhelleryou-" = "What in the hell are you-"  
> Thankfully not many Ruby lines this time, so translating is easy enough. 
> 
> Little heads up, next chapter is gonna be somewhat exposition heavy before getting back into the action.


	14. Sharing Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine reunites with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for it being so late! This chapter ended up being a fuckton longer than I expected to make it, and as such, I had to delay it a little. I also haven't had the time to do my usual prereading, so apologies if there are more errors than usual. However, thanks to the very kind and cool Denymeister, this story now has a part-time editor! Big shoutout to him!

_"When I look at Kenny now, he seems broken. I just wanna survive…_

_And that means picking the right sides."_

Clementine's familiarity with surgical work was one unbefitting of someone her age, but entirely necessary in a world like this. She was nearly confident enough in her skills to do Louis' minor surgery herself. She didn't, of course. Clem sure as hell wouldn't be comfortable with a blind person stitching her wounds. Instead, she was simply doing the smart thing and fetching a medic that could actually see what she was doing. The young survivor briskly made her way through the halls with ease. Occasional finger snaps served to guide her path when memory alone failed to. Within just a couple minutes, she found herself at the entrance to the evacuation route. The somewhat recently cleared out library still thick with the stench of dust and mold, but it still held the key to the student's survival if the Delta's attack had gone worse than it already had.

The room had been in poor shape when she, Louis, and Mitch had cleared it out together, the most notable among its many problems being a huge hole in the wall. Once the dead inside had been dispatched with, it became clear how the walkers got inside in the first place: a good twenty feet or so of the back courtyard's brick wall had collapsed entirely, allowing free access to the woods behind them. While Mitch reasonably saw it as a weakness, Clementine focused on how dense the trees were behind the school. It would provide excellent cover for them especially at night were they forced to make a speedy getaway. Instead of simply revealing the area after collecting anything of note, she instead simply blocked off the hole in the library with a bookshelf and had them stash some supplies just outside. Food, meds, maps and compasses, some arrows, just what they'd need to survive outside the school in the worst case scenario. Clem had even set up some failsafes for it. In the event they had to fall back, the kids had ten minutes from arriving at the exit point to gather supplies and wait for other students before they had to leave. From there, they would go to the fishing shack and wait. If they didn't get the all clear to return to the school within half a day, whoever was at the shack would have to set out into the forest and just hope for the best. It thankfully hadn't served a purpose until now.

The final caveat she'd employed to the already robust escape plan was a password everyone in the school had to learn. It was a relatively simple pattern of knocks, but one only fellow students would know. Knock, pause, three knocks, pause, one knock. Perhaps all the planning was excessive, but Clementine wanted to be certain none of the raiders would be able to follow them or trick the students into opening the door. As she approached the makeshift barricade, the blind girl could faintly hear people from just beyond it. "Clemen… th' rule…. -tta go." Ruby's heavily muffled voice softly murmured from the other side of the bookcase. She could hear another voice mumbling something in protest, but they spoke too softly to make out the words. Clem shook her head. Eavesdropping was a bad habit, one she still hadn't quite shaken after all this time with the group. The sightless girl raised her hand and performed the knock. A few seconds passed before the heavy bookcase slowly slid open. "Clementine? Where's-"

"Ruby, we need you in the nurse's office, now." She began. A gust of wind and heavy footsteps blew past her and caught Clem by surprise before she could even begin to explain the situation. Damn, Ruby could _really_ run when she wanted to. "Omar-"

"Is Tenn alright?" Minerva questioned, her voice shockingly fragile. When a beat passed without an answer, a more familiar snarl escaped her. "God help you if he isn't, because I promise I will-"

"He's fine. Shut her up and get her back in the basement." Clementine ordered, already turning away and walking back to the room they were carrying Louis to. She quietly made her way through the vast halls of Ericson's with only her thoughts to keep her company. Her jaw was tense enough to lightly ache, but she'd managed to keep her cool this time. Better. It spited herself most of all when Minerva managed to dig under her skin. If she could get to the point where she could ignore her blinding hatred for the marauder every time she even thought of the name, _maybe_ she could start moving passed these mood swings that had tormented her for two straight weeks. Maybe it was still possible to have that semi-normal life she'd pictured sitting with Violet that starry night. It came with a price as everything does in her life, but it could still happen.

Something crashed into her in the darkness as the rounded corner, knocking the teenager flat on her ass onto the cracked tile floor. A voice that clearly wasn't her own gave a gasp. She drew her knife on instinct and raised it in front of her warningly. "Don't fucking try it!"

"Oh shi- shoot, I'm sorry Clem!" AJ frantically apologized. Clementine's eye widened before she hurriedly put the knife away in shame. Jesus, how could she have pulled a knife on AJ? She pulled herself to a knee and wrapped her arms around her adopted son tightly in apology. She was thankful beyond words that he didn't hesitate to return the embrace even despite her prior threat. She knew he knew it was an accident, that she'd never have drawn her weapon if she could have seen it was him, but she couldn't shake the guilty feeling of it. Lee wouldn't have ever pointed a blade at her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay, kiddo. I-I didn't mean to…" She trailed off with a sigh. Just another bump in this emotional rollercoaster of a day. She shook her head to focus herself on the task at hand. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Violet wanted to talk to the new people, so she told me to come find you. She wanted us to help with Louis."

She nodded as she rose to her feet. "I was on my way. Ready, AJ?"

"Ready." The young boy replied determinedly. She smiled at his confidence before motioning for him to lead the way. While Clem hardly needed a guide at this point, she knew first-hand the importance of feeling useful. If she could give that to AJ just by following him around, how could she resist? She wordlessly fell into step with her protege. Her lips quirked up a little more when he took her hand, silently enjoying his company. Her little goofball; her anchor in this clusterfuck of a reality she found herself thrust into when she was barely older than him. Even after all that's happened, at heart, he was still the sweet little boy she'd had the privilege of raising from birth. She might be bursting at the seems, but there he'd be to make it worthwhile. After a brief silence, her young charge spoke up. "... Clem?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Did I do a bad earlier? When I ran out to help Violet, you got really mad and scared. I know I didn't listen to you, but I really just wanted to save them. I promise I didn't want to hurt nobody… I'm done being a murderer."

An uncertain sigh escaped Clementine. Once again, her attempts to instill a sense of morality in him conflicted with her lessons of self-preservation that he needed to survive. It was like an inverted mirror of their talk after Marlon's death. The troubled teenager somehow had to explain to a child the idea of doing the right thing at the wrong time when even she herself hadn't fully come to terms with that concept. Hell, some days, she still felt like she made the right call when she shot Minerva. Maybe that was her breaking through the instability or the instability breaking through her. Whichever one it was, AJ needed an answer. Taking a breath, she began. "... Not on purpose. I know you were only trying to help, and you did. But it was _really_ dangerous, AJ. I didn't know who they were when you went out there. I was so scared they might've been more of Lily's people or even worse than them, and when you fought them even though I told you not to, I thought you might die. Do you understand?" She asked softly. He ashamedly mumbled out an affirmation, which drew a small frown from her. "But… it's good that you care that much about people. You're a good person, AJ. So… no, you didn't do a bad thing. It was just a bad situation."

"Like with Minerva on the boat?"

… Shit. He really had a knack for hitting sore spots without even knowing it. She bit her tongue just in case any venomous words tried to slip out of her mouth amidst her mental whirlwind. Part of her wanted to scream, shame him for even daring to ask such a thing. Another part was too busy being ashamed that she'd let AJ see her inner darkness that day. It was the same darkness she'd been hiding from him, and indeed herself, for years after McCarol's collapse. The fact that he got to see past her mask and witness the mess she was on the inside hurt more than her suffering in the Delta ever could. At her heart, though, she knew what the answer was. What it _had_ to be if she was still even partially the girl who'd cared for him for so many years. "... Yes. Bad situations tend to bring out the worst in people." Clementine conceded. That much she meant genuinely. Those cannibals at the farm, Lily, the stranger on the radio, even Kenny and Lee… so many people she knew had either cracked or snapped completely under the strain of the end of the world. If she were being honest, she was on that list too. After all, it had all been chipping away at her for years. Losing her eyes was just the final nail in the coffin. She'd thought she had been broken before, during those dark days when her life was just a cycle of restless sleep, banditry and guilt in the wake of losing AJ, but looking back on it, she knew deep down that he wasn't truly gone. Now, though, there would be no such second chances. Her sight was gone. Her temper was almost uncontrollable. Her very sanity was questionable. There wasn't some missing piece she could just take back to make herself feel whole again. From now to the end of her days, a part of Clementine would forever be trapped in that boat, never to come back. The best she could do was cling onto her new family for dear life and pray whoever was watching finally decided she'd suffered enough.

Slightly muffled voices broke Clementine from her dark thoughts. "Ruby, come on, at least buy me dinner first?" She could hear Louis half-jokingly plead. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Hardy har. Sitchur ass back on that bed an' think about this next time ya decide to run off like a damn teenager!"

"... Ruby, we _are_ teenagers."

The southerner's signature 'fuck this' scoff was the only reply as her and AJ entered the room. "Uh… why's Louis tied up?" AJ questioned.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Louis shot back before anyone could explain. His previous joke suddenly made much more sense, Clem trying her best to keep a guilty snicker from escaping her lips. A slapping noise was soon accompanied by an overly dramatic cry from Louis. "Owowow! Geez, tough crowd."

"He's six, ya sicko." The redhead lectured in annoyance.

"That's why I'm telling him when he's older instead of right now!"

She couldn't contain a small giggle. How he could keep making jokes when he had a fresh bullet hole in him, she would never know. Still, now wasn't the time for jokes. The blind brunette cleared her throat to level her tone before speaking. "Is he alright?"

"Dumber than a box a'rocks and limpin' for at least a month, but other than that he should be fine. Assumin' he don't get himself shot again, anyways..." Ruby explained, her annoyance mixing with the certainty of her diagnosis. Clem felt some of the tension melt from her shoulders at the news. Louis was far too important to lose. Her country friend gave a huff as she presumably turned back towards the pianist. "As for why he's tied up, he's servin' time for bein' a reckless moron. This whole mess happened 'cuz he decided to go out huntin' alone. Doctor's orders."

Clementine rose an eyebrow. Louis voluntarily hunting? Doing so alone, for that matter? That didn't sound like him. She made a note to talk about it with him later. She gave a quick snap of her fingers to get a read on where everyone was. While the nurse's office wasn't a particularly small room, it could still get crowded rather easily. It'd be bad if she ended up stumbling into someone or supplies trying to navigate around their makeshift emergency room. The spot where Louis was supposed to be seemed even fuzzier than the rest of her mental map, seeming more like just a square of noise than anything resembling a humanoid outline. He must've been in quite an awkward position if that were any indication. Regardless, what mattered now was helping her injured friend. "Violet sent us to help. What can we do?"

"Well, Ah got the wound cleaned up, stitched an' bandaged, so not a whole lot. 'Cept… actually, AJ, can you keep an eye on Lou? Make sure he doesn't do anythin' dumber than usual?"

"You wound me, Ruby. Not as much as that guy's gun, but the point still stands." The cheeky leader replied with mock offense. Ruby ignored him, walking towards Clementine.

"Hey, Clem, we need ta talk. Got a minute?" The medic whispered in her ear. A small frown came over her, but she nodded in agreement. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. Even so, the former leader of the school quietly followed her out of the room, taking a breath as the door softly clicked behind them and preparing an explanation for herself. Her prediction came true. "Ah want you to answer me honestly here: are you doin' alright? 'Cause Ah ain't so sure you are." Ruby's concerned voice reached her ears. She couldn't help but flinch at the words. She wordlessly leaned herself against the door frame and crossed her arms. The lack of response prompted her friend to continue. "Ah know it ain't been easy fer you, t'say th' least. Not lately, prolly not ever. But… it's wearin' you down, Clem. Ah can tell."

Clem's unseeing gaze shifted to the floor. "...Honestly? I have no idea. Nothing's made sense since…" She gestured to her eyes. "I'm trying. I really am. But… _she_ just makes me lose control." The brunette lamented with a frown.

"If'm bein' honest, Clem, you scared me. The way you were whalin' Minnie, how cold you were about it, an' then when you told AJ to take out his gun... Ah really thought you were gonna have him kill her right then an' there."

Clem turned to her with a glare. "I would _never_ let AJ kill someone he didn't have to. Not again. Besides, I only hit her twice."

A beat passed with no response. "... Clem… is that really what you think?"

She raised an eyebrow beneath her blindfold. "What do you mean, 'is that what I think'? I punched her twice."

"Clementine, you pummeled her. Threw at least four'er five hits. Split her lip open even. If Ah hadn't a'stepped in, you probably woulda broke her nose with the next one. Only reason she ain't in that room is 'cause Ah patched her up out there."

Clementine's head shot up in surprise. "W-what? No. No, I remember hitting her twice…"

"... Then you musta blacked out for the other three," Ruby concluded. The blind brunette opened her mouth to retort, but closed it as the grim reality of it swarmed over her. She had even less control over her anger than she'd thought. Was she trembling? She hoped not. She flinched as a hand took her shoulder and drew away. Slowly, the small, chubby fingers took a comforting grip on her that she didn't refuse. "Ah ain't angry, Clem. Don't blame ya neither. Ah know yer good at heart, an' that's what's got me so concerned. Ah just don't want Minnie t'take that from you, too."

Clementine kept quiet. She'd had conversations like this, but it was almost always her trying to steer other people to the right track. Lee when he killed that man with a pitchfork. Kenny when he was lashing out at Arvo. Telling Javi to take Clint's deal instead of revenge. But now… now she was the one teetering on insanity and taking it out on others. A part of her was thankful she'd managed to limit herself to bloodying up Minerva instead of her friends, but those sorts of thoughts were exactly the problem, weren't they? She was in the same downward spiral Kenny was in so many years ago. If she didn't change that soon, maybe the next person put in her position wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. "... I won't let her. I promise I'm still me. I…" The words tasted like ash as she forced herself to admit them. "I need your help to make sure I stay that way. All of you."

"A'course, Clem. Ah promised you that we'd be here for ya, didn't I?" Ruby assured. A small, weak smile hesitantly emerged from Clementine. Her gratitude was clear as day on her face. After a few moments, Ruby lightly clicked her tongue. "Well, you wanna come in? AJ an' Ah just about got it covered, but Louis probly wouldn't mind th' company."

Clem considered it for a moment, but shook her head. "I'll talk with him a little later. Violet might need some help… but… thank you. Really." She bid farewell, getting to her feet and turning to where she was fairly sure the hallway leading to the courtyard was.

***

Violet's suspicious glare washed over the trio of new survivors with every breath they took inside the gates of Ericson's. The leader of the school, as well as just about all of its inhabitants, were wary of the strangers at best and actively scornful at worst. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't firmly in the second category right now. With the adrenaline starting to fade out of her system, it made the blonde realize the fact that she, Louis, and Aasim would likely be dead right now if Clementine hadn't broken cover or if Christa didn't know her. It was a fact that left her feeling bitter and distrusting of her 'guests'. Even now, Ruby was working to patch up Louis' wounds inflicted by these people. It had been maybe a quarter of an hour since their standoff ended and she begrudgingly led the new arrivals to the office. Thus she was, sitting in Marlon's- no, _her_ chair with Aasim by her side and David, Christa and Jack standing opposite from her, unable to hide a displeased frown from her face.

"Are we going to negotiate, or are we just going to glare at each other all night?" David questioned, breaking the silence that had been suffocating the office. She rolled her eyes at the pompous dickhead playing soldier. It reminded her of the man who'd once occupied this same seat. She rested her feet on the desk specifically to annoy him.

"Suits me." The young woman taunted. She smirked at his scowl. Violet kind of missed toying with authority like this. She hadn't really gotten to do it since the fuckers they called their teachers left them all for dead. After all, until the year prior, Marlon had been something of a man of the people, so she had no reason to jab at him beyond friendly jokes. She couldn't even do it now because he was dead. Thankfully, David seemed to be just the sort of smug asshole she'd been missing. Anyone who took themselves this seriously was just begging for her defiance. Alas, seeing as how she was the leader here, she did actually have to deal with these people. "First thing's first. You mentioned caravans, so it's obvious you're part of some larger group. Who?"

David's harsh expression didn't fade as he spoke. "You ever hear about New Richmond?"

The name slightly rang a bell. Didn't Clementine mention Richmond once…? The more she thought about it, the more certain she was. Her girlfriend said she'd based the school's defenses on what she'd seen in Richmond. Other than that, though, Clem had been rather tight lipped about whatever experienced she might have had with them. She hadn't pressed the girl at the time, much too busy with preparing for the attack to worry about some group practically on the other side of the state, but she'd be an idiot to not take this opportunity. "Bits and pieces. Are you the guys the Delta were fighting?"

"One of them." Jack replied with a slight shrug. She raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to go on. He nodded towards David, who scowled in turn. Giving an annoyed grunt of acknowledgement, the older man began.

"A few years back, we were a unified group. Called ourselves the New Frontier. We took over what was left of Richmond and tried to have something like life before the world went to hell. An evil bitch called Joan went behind our backs and used our troops to start raiding other communities. She caused a herd to break in, and we lost a lot of good people. Joan ghosted in the chaos and left my brother to pick up the pieces. Javi and I turned it around, made it a place worth living in," Clementine's old acquaintance explained, a hint of pride entering his voice at the end. It quickly fell away as his expression darkened. "A few months down the line, she came back. Managed to convince half of our people that what happened was our fault, and that was it for the New Frontier. It fell into civil war, and it's been like that ever since. We changed our name to New Richmond."

"And they became the Delta." Aasim concluded. David gave a confirming nod. Violet couldn't help but feel more bitterness simmer. The twins' 'deaths', Clementine's trauma, almost dying on the boat… all this suffering brought on by some asshole's war miles and miles away from them. It certainly didn't help her already negative first impressions. Still, they did answer the question, so she might as well continue.

"If we let you go, how do we know you won't just come back with more of your people and take us over?"

"We're not the Delta. Those bastards might not have standards, but we do." Christa interjected. The blonde scoffed in annoyance.

"Says you. You already lied to me twice. Why should I risk it a third time?" She pointed out with a scornful gaze. After all she was holding proof of one of her falsehoods right now. The gun she'd taken from the older woman still weighed heavily in her vest pocket, simultaneously uncomfortable and yet also reassuring. Not unlike her prized cleaver, really. Violet was hardly an expert on guns, but between basic intuition, AJ, Clem, and Minerva, she was certain they could train practically everyone in the school to at least be passable with one. Seeing as how they apparently weren't alone in these woods, they might have to start that sooner rather than later.

"How many people would just sit around and talk after the stunt you pulled? I'd say we're being pretty fucking generous right now." David gruffed out. God, could this guy be more of an asshole? She scowled at him, about to say some colorful variation of telling him to fuck himself when Aasim interrupted.

"He has a point, Violet."

"Bullshit-"

"If they really wanted us dead, why didn't they just gun us down at the gates?"

She snarled at the boy who had temporarily become her second in command. "That fucker," Violet growled as she pointed to David. "Put a bullet in Louis. He might've killed James. How the fuck do you expect me to trust people like them?"

"Walker guy? He got away. Dislocated my shoulder for good measure." Jack complained with a wince as he moved the arm in question.

"Look, I don't know what you've gone through before, but we're not some monsters in the woods. We just want to live, like you and everyone else. Let's just do the smart thing and stop waving guns around, alright?" Christa broke into the conversation. "Can't imagine you guys have much medicine. That just happens to he something we have a lot of. See where I'm going with this?"

Violet raised an eyebrow at her. "What makes you think we have anything to trade?"

"Everyone has something someone else doesn't. Food, meds, knowledge… trade is more than just swapping supplies instead of money, you know." Christa's well dressed comrade added. Violet's face remained stone cold, but internally, her interest had been piqued. They could definitely use more medical supplies, especially now that Louis got himself hurt again. But… she still got a bad feeling from the visitors. She found herself at a loss for what to do. She'd have to think about it, talk with Louis, but she sure as hell wasn't doing it tonight.

"... If you don't fuck things up worse, _maybe_ we'll think about it." Violet compromised. She struggled not to scoff in annoyance at Jack's slightly smug grin.

"I'd call that a win in my book. Well, chief?"

"... Fine." David conceded. The blonde rolled her eyes at his pissed off tone as she took her feet of the desk and stood up.

"As far as staying here… you're staying in the basement. Better safe than sorry, or whatever."

"Telling people to sleep on the floor doesn't leave a great first impression, hun." Christa objected. Violet crossed her arms with a glare.

"Yeah, because shooting my best friend left such a great one. 'I'd say we're being pretty fucking generous right now'." She threw David's words back in their face, satisfaction warming her as Christa's lips thinned and the woman failed to respond. Being the leader _did_ have its high points...

***

In truth, Clem's focus wasn't on helping Violet. She'd love if she could help along the way, of course, but she really just wanted to find Christa again. Selfish, maybe, but how could she not? She'd spent the better part of a decade thinking the woman was dead. For her to be back after all these years… there was no way she could resist the opportunity. That was why she was (somewhat) patiently waiting outside Violet's office. Faint mumbles sounded off from behind the heavy double doors, but trying to listen in proved fruitless. It seemed the old headmaster had designed the room to be more or less soundproof, probably to counterbalance the shouts of especially unruly students. Good for them, bad for her ever-suspicious personality. Maybe it was for the best. Violet could handle herself. If it looked like she depended on her, _especially_ if they realized her condition, it would look like a vulnerability just waiting to be exploited. She'd like to think Christa and even David wouldn't see it like that, but Lily and she herself were proof of how different people could become in just a few short years. She wouldn't undermine Violet's authority and endanger the group just for a couple extra minutes with her once-estranged guardian.

Almost as if on cue, the doors opened and were accompanied by several sets of footsteps. "-en you want to turn in, tell someone first and we'll take you down to the basement. There should be some blankets and- Clem?" Aasim stopped halfway through his procedural once he noticed her unexpected presence.

"Ruby sent me," She partially lied. "Louis is fine."

"Until I get a hold of him," Violet announced sourly. "Reckless fucking idiot…"

Clementine couldn't help but feel pity for Louis. One would think getting shot was punishment enough, but clearly his stunt and subsequent injury had crossed her girlfriend, and a pissed off Violet was hell on wheels. Perhaps this sort of thing wouldn't have bothered Violet back in the day, but with what they all went through with the Delta… Clem could only imagine her fury. Of course, David likely wasn't helping in that regard. "I'm glad. I-"

He was promptly cut off by Violet's icy tone. "Don't pretend to give a shit. Just… you wanted a place to rest, you got it. So go do it."

"One of these days, that attitude's gonna bite you in the ass, kid." David warned. "I'm letting it slide for now because I made a mistake, but don't get used to it."

"Drop it, David." Christa tried to intervene.

"Just because we need their help now doesn't mean I'm going to keep putting up with her bullshit!"

Before things could escalate further, a new voice spoke up. "Forceful though she might be, your leg _is_ pretty fucked up, David. It probably would be best if you rested up. I'll keep watch with Christa up here."

After a few moments of tense silence (and presumably a wordless battle of wits between David and Violet), the older man growsed out, "Don't take chances. If things go south, just get out while you can. You hear me, Jack? No hero act this time."

"Loud and clear, cap." His more level-headed soldier confirmed.

"Aasim?" The school's leader called out.

"Yeah. On it. Follow me."

The two men departed, leaving Clem, Christa, Violet, and Jack alone. "Was he this much of a prick when you knew him?" The blonde questioned. Clem laughed a bit, smirking.

"Worse, actually. But speaking of that, we have a lot to catch up on, Christa."

"Yeah… yeah we do, sweetie," The older woman murmured, almost as if she couldn't believe she was really saying it to Clem. Hell, the blind girl couldn't believe it herself. The teen broke out into a grin as she walked over to the couch in the reception area before the office, sitting next to what felt like Rosie. Violet and Christa soon joined her, though the mysterious man accompanying her old friends seemed to prefer being on his feet. He must be used to the road, then. She had the same habit for quite some time. Probably still would, if circumstances allowed for it. Still, there were more important matters right now. "What happened after we split up? Have you been by yourself all these years?"

Clem gave a solemn nod. "I met a group a little after we separated. They were good people… mostly. I got bit by a dog, and their doctor thought it might have been a walker bite."

"What kind of moron can't tell the difference between a dog bite and a walker? You sure that guy was a doctor?" Christa asked with a scoff. Clem shurgged.

"I think he just didn't want to use any supplies on me. Probably hoped I'd die from infection and he could say he was right the day after. Once I finally convinced them I wasn't bit, they helped me. We became friends… and then they died, one by one. The only thing left of them is AJ."

"I was wondering about him. I didn't think he was yours, but… the world's heartless these days." Christa quietly admitted. Clem suppressed a shiver at the idea. She supposed if she'd been spared one horror in her life, it was that.

"His mom and dad were part of the group. An asshole named Carver killed his dad, and she died a few days later. Everyone else got shot, bit, or left us to die. In the end, it ended up just me and AJ. Ever since then, I made it a rule to avoid groups, and I only broke it twice. The New Frontier, and now Ericson's."

"Christ… I don't know how you made it through all that." Christa sympathized.

"I just kinda had to," Clem nonchalantly replied. "I always had something that I had to live for. As long as AJ needed me, I couldn't let myself die. Nothing else mattered… at least, until we got here." Fondness seeped into her voice as she thought of the place that had become her home. It quickly occurred to her that her longtime friend probably hadn't properly met her flame. "Christa, this is Violet. She…" Some reluctance spiked in that moment. Should she reveal that detail? Did she have any right to love someone after how she tore Omid from Christa? At the same time, for how much she demanded Violet acknowledge them as a couple, how could she turn around and lie about what she meant to her? Omid was never afraid of showing how much he cared about Christa. There was no point in hanging herself with her regrets. Not anymore. "... She's my girlfriend."

A beat passed without response. When it came, the voice was one left softened from experience. "Hold onto that, Clem. It's the best feeling in the world while you have it, and the worst when you lose it. Don't ever let it go."

Clementine nodded in understanding. "Never," She promised. A brief silence reigned as the two friends quietly mourned the man who'd defined their lives in such different ways. When the air finally felt light enough to speak in, she changed the topic. "So… what happened to you after I ran?"

Christa gave a light sigh. Painful memories were in abundance these days, it seemed. "After I told you to run, I didn't know if you were alive or dead. I tried get away, but I got shot. Hit me in the shoulder. I guess he figured I was dead, because he didn't bother finishing me off before he ran. So I just laid there, slowly bleeding out. I tried to find you, but by the time I was back on my feet, you were long gone."

Clem nodded sadly. "I fell in the river trying to get away."

"When I finally thought you were dead, that was it. I just gave up. On you, Wellington, everything. Only alive because nothing bothered to kill me. I don't know when, but I just picked a direction and started walking. Few weeks later, I met Jack." Christa confessed. If there was one feeling Clem knew all too well, it was that one. Sympathy surged in her, but almost as powerful was the surprise at hearing Christa cared about her that much back then. She'd truly thought her former guardian hated her for all those years, yet Christa described exactly what the blind girl had been like when David stole AJ from her. A small laugh escaped from somewhere to her left.

"Met in quotation marks. More like found me passed out in some thrift shop's bathroom." Jack said with clear amusement. His good mood faded as he continued. "I was around your age back then. Things got tight for my group. When food ran low, most of us killed each other to get what was left. Me, my dad, and a couple other guys bailed before we joined the pile. Held up in an old Goodwill. They left for a hunting run… never came back. After about a week, I said fuck it and just tried to have the best time I could before I starved to death. Threw together this outfit and downed every drop of booze I could find. I was so drunk I didn't even notice the bell trap I set up on the door go off."

Christa continued after he stopped. "At first, I was gonna keep moving 'til he practically grabbed my leg begging me to help. He knew where to get medicine, I knew how to hunt. Worked out a deal between the two of us and that's how it worked for months. I tried not to care the whole time, but when push came to shove and the meds ran out, I couldn't bring myself to leave him there. We've been together ever since."

It was a bit vague, but it made sense to Clem. After all, she knew how strange her story must've seemed without the proper context. Hell, it seemed strange to her even knowing everything that happened. Maybe one day she could get the full story on what happened. For now, though, she had one major question. "How'd you end up in Richmond?"

"Until pretty recently, we were doing odd jobs for whatever community was paying with a few other people that joined our little caravan. Prescott, Richmond, even a few more long term contracts up by Alexandria. Escort services, mostly. Well, during one of these jobs, the Delta got the jump on us and killed our friends. We would've been done for too if it weren't for David. We joined New Richmond properly after that… though, speaking of which, how'd you know the good commander? You don't really seem like the merc type."

Clementine's lips thinned. "I was desperate for help. It was just AJ and I on the road, and we hadn't found food in days and he was starting to get a fever. He was just a toddler. David and the New Frontier came to me offering food, medicine, a home… how could I resist? I worked with them for almost a year, but AJ kept getting sicker. It got to the point that David was done offering medicine… so I stole it. To get back at me for it, he stole AJ and kicked me out. I spent a year thinking AJ was dead because of him… because of me. I kept thinking it wouldn't have happened if I'd just been more careful. If Kenny hadn't died, he would've known what to do…" She trailed off with a frown.

"Kenny? What do you mean if Kenny didn't die? Clem, he died in Savannah." Christa stated, confusion clear in her voice. Oh, right. Clem didn't mention his miraculous survival.

"Kenny wasn't dead. He was with me until just a few weeks before I joined Richmond."

"What?" Christa gasped a little. She was probably giving her an uncertain look, but the unending black kept her from seeing it. "How? That alley was a damn deathtrap."

Clem shrugged, a small smile coming to her lips. "Dunno. All he told me was he got lucky. He said he'd tell me some day," Her smile faded as the image of a crippled Kenny, bruised, battered, and covered with road burns forced itself into her mind. "He didn't. I found him a few days after we got separated, alive. We found Wellington, but they didn't let us in. They just tossed us a couple bags of supplies and wished us luck. We spent years together raising AJ out on the road. Then we had a car crash and he was paralyzed… he made sure the walkers didn't come after me and AJ."

"He sounds like a good guy." Violet said apologetically. She smiled a bit.

"He was." AJ's guardian agreed.

"I only knew him a couple days, but he seemed decent. I'm glad you had someone there for you, at least."

She turned back to where Christa was… god, where _Christa_ was. She still couldn't believe she was really here after all this time. It was even stronger than the feeling she had reuniting with Kenny all those years ago. A feeling so intense she couldn't find the words to describe them other than, "... I'm really glad to see you again, Christa."

"I'm surprised you can see through that thing at all. Seems pretty thick."

The euphoric feeling dampened. Christa's voice was light. A small jab at what probably just seemed like an odd fashion choice. Louis had done the same thing, before he knew why she wore it. Despite the good intent, Clementine couldn't keep her mouth from slipping into a frown at the remark. "Shit…" She heard Violet mumble somewhere to her right.

"... I can't."

"Uh… okay... why not take it off then?"

"Because it wouldn't help."

She could picture her old caretaker's confused gaze on her almost as vividly as the pitying looks her friends gave her when they thought she wouldn't notice. She could practically feel it on her skin. After a second, a quiet gasp sounded from in front of her. "Oh god… are you…?" The question didn't even need to finish before Christa got her answer. Clementine looked down, years of old habits still unbroken despite her lack of vision. She felt herself pulled into another hug, the girl Wordlessly accepting it. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I had no idea. I- how did it happen?"

"Don't." Violet growled out warningly. The danger in her voice took Clem aback nearly as much as it did Christa. Once the initial shock subsided, it made a part of her swell with love for the blonde that was clearly trying to protect her. She searched for her hand and gave a reassuring smile to her when they found each other.

"It's alright, Violet. I… I'll tell you, someday. I promise." Clementine replied, the non-answer seeming to appease the question for now. An awkward silence reigned over the four of them in the wake of the revelation, the silence positively deafening to the sightless teenager. It dragged on for what seemed like eternity before Jack had mercifully started up with some innocuous topic that the group idly talked about as she more or less tuned it out. Reality had come to override the dream-like joy she'd slipped into, but for once, the world seemed to be throwing her a softball. Not perfect, but what in this world ever was?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violet got kinda snubbed this chapter, I know, so I promise to give her more next chapter as make up. After all, she and Louis have a lot to talk about, don't they?


	15. Betraying Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva reflects on her nearly fatal mistake. Violet starts to trust new friends as old ones violate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya like angst? Ya like a bit of fluff to soften it? Ya like arguments? If you said yes to that last one, you're probably a bard main in DND. Anyway, this chapter has a lot of all of that.

_ "Trust? You think you can trust someone out here?  _

_ Not now. Not anymore" _

Minerva was no stranger to beatings. It had been a staple of her life for nearly as long as she'd been alive. Her scumfuck excuse of a father, the bullies that would terrorize Tenn and Sophie, the other kids in Juvie, Lily and the Delta, all of them had taught her how to take a punch. Sometimes it was to 'teach her respect', other times it was just for fun. Didn't change the fact that she was always walking off one injury or another before her mom finally convinced the judge to send them to Ericson's. Funnily enough, locked up in the school filled with violent problem children was the safest she'd ever felt. At least, it was until that decade-old trust was shattered when her best friend left them to die at the hands of the raiders just to save his own skin. Jagged whip scars joined faded belt marks on her back in the months afterwards. One cruel bastard after another in a long line of people she wished she could've had the pleasure of putting in the ground. What made this time different was that it was like looking in a warped mirror.

The more she learned about Clementine, the more she realized their similarities, and the more she despised her for it. A capable survivor with the will to do anything to protect their family. There was one key difference that set them apart, a tiny but world-altering change that made the redhead hate the girl more than anyone or anything she had in her entire life of bitterness.

_ "I won't give up like you did!" _

Seven words was all it took for Minerva to loathe her dark reflection with every fiber of her being. For all her talk of Clementine being reckless and foolish, in her heart, she wanted nothing more than to  _ be  _ her. To be someone worth her adoptive family's love. To be fearless and heroic. She wanted it so much, and she just wasn't it. Too weak and afraid to take the leap the younger survivor took in stride. Minerva wasn't the person she was meant to become, and she resented how easily Clementine had taken on that role for the school. That was why she had to destroy her. She had to prove that she was right. She had to demonstrate that resistance would only make things worse. If you fought back, you'd die… but they didn't. Despite all odds, they made it out alive and free. They had ripped through the lie the student turned raider had told herself for an entire year, and without it, she didn't know what to do. If she acknowledged the truth, she murdered Sophie for nothing. If she clung to the lie, then she participated in the very cycle of violence she was so fearful of and shattered a teenager's psyche on behalf of her kidnappers. Minerva was a monster either way.

So, then, perhaps it was fitting that the reflection of herself she'd gone out of her way to break had beaten her bloody just as she'd been mentally doing to herself since the night of her sister's death. In a way, Minerva had succeeded back on the boat. The Clementine she'd met in the brig of the Fitzgerald was gone. In her place was a shell of a woman that was desperately trying to hide how broken she was behind a strong face. In yet another darkly ironic similarity, all it took to rip away that mask was a few harsh words before Clementine's true self was revealed. In there laid the final thing separating Clem from everyone else who'd used her as a punching bag. Unlike her father or any of the other heartless fuckers over the years, some part of her deep down felt sorry for her. Even now, as Omar held her down and Ruby forcibly performed an examination on her, she couldn't shake the blind brunette from her mind. She hated her, that much hadn't changed. But the longer she thought about it, the more pity threatened to claw past her practiced numbness. Without a war or a duty to busy herself with, doubts and regrets of her past had come back to plague her one by one. At last, it seemed it was Clementine's turn. Despite her efforts to force the thought from her mind, she couldn't help but wonder. If she had stopped after taking Clem's first eye, would the girl have still snapped? Hell, would things be better if she hadn't tried to stop her escape at all? So many questions that would never have answers, instead just weighing down on her like a rock. She'd never admit these feelings aloud, or even let herself consciously acknowledge them, but they would haunt her all the same.

More powerful than her newfound empathy for Clementine, however, was a growing panic. Tenn was still out there. Her sweet, naive little brother, sleeping peacefully as death knocked at the door. Violet was as good as dead if her suspicions were correct. That meant the only decent thing left in the world was entirely in Clementine's hands, and that idea terrified her even more than the chance the New Frontier were coming to clean house of whatever was left of the Delta and whoever they deemed to be supporting them. If anything happened to him, she'd personally make sure everyone Clementine ever loved hanged by their fucking entrails, pity be damned. The former raider became more and more uneasy with each passing second. Apparently, this was starting to show physically as her irate caretaker made a frustrated grunt. "Wouldja just sit still for a moment? Yer lip ain't gonna heal right if Ah can't apply equal pressure." Ruby complained with a huff. Minerva's icy blue eyes flicked to her before narrowing in annoyance.

"It won't heal if we're dead. Let me go. I can-"

"You can sit down, shaddup, an' wait 'til Violet's back. Ah'm gettin' real tired a'yer attitude, Minnie." The medic warned with a glare. Minerva struggled against the belt tightly binding her hands together to no avail. She snarled at the younger girl.

"Do you really think Tenn will be safe with that lunatic?! Even if she controls herself, how are a blind girl and a preschooler supposed to fight off armed and trained adults? I'm the only one here who can protect him! You know I'm-" 

"Shut it!" Ruby roared. Her usually gentle eyes were tinted with an anger that was rare even in the days when she was hell on wheels. Minerva opened her mouth to report only to be cut off again. "No! You listen here! You got some fuckin' nerve talkin' 'bout her like some psychopath when yer the one that did this to her! She wouldn't be unstable if it weren't fer you! Wouldn't be blind, neither," Her voice wilted to a soft, regretful tone at that. Her expression and tone hardened again a moment later. "So don't hold yer breath fer me t'let you go after all that. She'll get Tenn safe an' sound, an' then either Vi'll come give us a green light or we'll get gone. Either way, you're gonna shut your mouth, or next time Ah won't stop'er!"

"I think we should calm-"

"Shut the fuck up, Omar." The eneraged Ruby ordered. He fell silent again, leaving the two redheads to glower and glare at each other. With nothing left to say, Minerva could only hold her harsh gaze and hope against hope that her instincts were wrong for once. Admittedly, there hadn't been anymore gunshots since the first. That could be a good sign… or mean that they had switched to something quieter. Minutes passed without any sign of the intruders or her brother. Ruby's anger shifted to worry as the moments went on and the students still hadn't appeared. A bitter scowl painted the ex-marauder's features as she found herself increasingly certain of her initial prediction. She kept quietly struggling against her restraints in a vain attempt to break free and save these idiots from themselves. After what must've been another ten minutes of tense silence, Ruby ran a hand through her hair with a shaky breath. "Shit… aright, time to pack up."

Minerva shot up. "Not without Tenn."

"Minnie, it ain't my-"

"Fuck off! We aren't leaving until he's here with me!" She spat out. 

"It's been fifteen minutes. We can't stick around fer them anymore. We jus' gotta hope they meet up with us at the shack."

"I'm not losing him again!" Minerva hissed. Ruby took her by the shoulder, though there wasn't time to tell whether she was trying to force her to move or provide some sort of stilted comfort. She kicked Ruby in the leg hard enough to draw out a pained grunt and tumble of quickly murmured curses. "Try it and Clementine won't be the only one missing an eye!"

She quickly found herself restrained by Omar's viselike grip. Fury flashed over the country girl's face. "You little fuckin'-" She interrupted herself with a growl. The medic closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, to Minerva's light surprise. Seemed Ruby was less prone to outbursts than she was even a year prior. "We stay here, all a'us are good as dead. You think Ah wanna leave'em here? Tenn'd want you safe, Minnie."

"I don't care what he wants!"

Omar's voice carried a negotiating tone as he spoke. "Maybe we could stick around just a few more minutes? Clem could still be close."

Ruby shook her head with a disappointed expression. "Clementine's the one who made the rule in th'first place. We gotta go."

Her anger was flaring high enough to boil her blood, but Minerva forced herself to keep a steady tone as she pleaded as sincerely as she could. " _ Please _ , Ruby. All I want it to protect him. Let me-"

**_Knock… knock knock knock… knock_ **

Minerva's eyes shot to the door in suspicion. The hell was that? Her suspicion turned into disbelief as Ruby slowly approached the old bookcase and pushed it out of the way. Clementine stood before them with a conflicted expression. More importantly was the fact that Tenn wasn't beside her. Minerva's glare faded into a frightened gaze while a cold dread settled on the back of her neck. "Ruby, we need you in the nurse's office, now," The blind girl announced, only serving to further the feeling of ice water in her veins. Ruby was off in an instant, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Was Tenn hurt? Or… could he be… no. No, that wasn't possible. Not even Clementine would dare show her face if she managed to get him killed. The brunette said something else, but the rider's brother took priority. 

"Is Tenn alright?" She softly asked, staring pleadingly at the young woman she'd taken so much from. Clementine looked like a deer caught in headlights, her mouth opening to respond despite the lack of words coming from her. Minerva's teeth grit harder with each passing second. "God help you if he isn't, because I promise I will-"

Clem's face hardened. "He's fine. Shut her up and get her back in the basement." The blind girl ordered even as she spun on her heels and walked away from them. The threats died in her throat at the confirmation. Her bared teeth resigned into an uncertain frown. She and Omar were left alone in the dead silence that followed Clementine's departure. Once the initial surprise wore off, she tried to take a step forward, but found herself still restrained by the resident chef's remarkable hold. The redhead flicked her eyes behind her to find him looking troubled. 

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not while she's still close…" He pointed out. His lips were curled downward while he tried to hide his eyes behind his wild hair. Minerva raised a curious eyebrow. Since when did he care? Still, she wasn't going to argue with the first logical thing she'd heard in hours. She simply stood in place and let the silence slowly smother them once more. Omar was never much of a conversationalist to begin with, and the Delta taught her the virtues of keeping her mouth shut. They hadn't been particularly close before her capture either. Between these factors, it resulted in a very uncomfortable quiet that neither of them knew how to break and only one who'd be interested in doing so. It was better than bickering with Ruby or trading threats with Clementine at least. That is, it was until he finally seemed to work up the nerve to speak. "... Does it hurt?" The cook slowly asked. She gave him a blank stare in mild annoyance, the boy sheepishly looking away. "Just… I'm sorry. I thought things would turn out smoother today, you know?"

It took all of Minerva's will not to give a disappointed sigh. "Don't think like that. It'll hurt less..." The raider robotically stated. It was a long practiced line she told herself as often as she did to the Delta's captives. She'd only recently been granted prisoner duty before Lily's assassination at her own hands, the position only falling to her in the last three months. In that time, though, she had read that script to dozens of men, women and children drafted into the war in much the same way she'd been. He gave a frown, drawing one in turn from her. "Let me guess, that's not 'something the old Minnie would say'?"

He shook his head. "Seems like everyone around here's changed but me. I'm not so sure it's all for the better." Her unlikely guard confessed. She knew the answer was definitely for the worse. A bunch of broken people kids trying to seem sane to everyone else while the walls closed in around them. Marlon had been the first of them to snap, and he caught a bullet for it. He probably wouldn't be the only one by the time the school collapsed. That much was a matter of fact. The only question was how long it would take before Violet snapped like he did and how many of them she'd take down with her. In the end, though, none of that really mattered anymore. The old Minnie probably would have fought tooth and nail to save her friends, but now… now she was just tired of groups, especially this one. If she didn't know the bitter truth of how bad the world was outside those four walls, she would happily take Tenn and get far, far away from this hopeless hellhole of a state. More silence passed before he finally relented. "... I think she's probably gone now. I… let's just go home." Omar said. A single bitter thought was all the dignity Minerva would give the words.

_ "What home?" _

***

Clementine's past was like the most interesting story Violet never got to hear. Countless names mentioned in passing without a face to them, vague mentions of events that would make her blind beloved tense and flinch as subtly as she could, no doubt having practiced hiding her trauma for years on her road to Ericson's. Kenny, Lee, Christa, none of those names meant a thing to the school's sullen leader, yet were the source of so much joy and pain for Clementine. She hoped she could get to know those stories one day. She'd always been curious about it, but it never seemed to be the right time. First it was because she was brand new, next they had to focus on preparing for the attack, then the poor girl was too traumatized for Vi to even consider asking about potentially touchy memories. The world seemed to do its damndest to keep Clementine from ever having a moment's rest, and it killed Violet to know she could have prevented at least some of it. Even now, it seemed like this momentary reprieve had costed them severely.

Violet's still somewhat suspicious gaze kept flickering between Clem's smiling face and Christa's expression that contained a mix of happiness and pity. It had been a couple hours since New Richmond's little strike team arrived, and in that time, Christa hadn't left Clem's side since. Despite her misgivings with the older woman, the blonde had to admit that it was clear Christa cared about the former leader. If she didn't, Violet doubted they'd still be alive right now. That was a far cry from actually trusting her- there's no way in hell she'd actually trust any of them this soon after what they did -but it was something of a start. At the very least it was better than another flat out enemy. Clementine was a good judge of character, generally. If she was this attached to someone, they had to be solid. They were quietly chatting about something, presumably exchanging more stories from their respective pasts. Violet didn't try to listen in despite her curiosity. If Clementine wanted her to know about what she'd gone through, she'd come to her of her own volition. Until then, Violet would respect her privacy. Some sluggish movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Jack had apparently fallen asleep at some point, the charismatic survivor's sleeping body slowly slumping to the floor in front of the door he'd been leaning on. She rolled her eyes. He seemed to get comfortable awfully quickly for someone who'd been a wanderer possibly even longer than Clem had. She considered tossing something at him to wake him up, but decided against it. No sense in spoiling one of Clementine's few happy moments just for some petty kicks against a slightly overstepping stranger. So she instead sat in the relatively comfortable quiet, Clem's hand softly grasping her own. It brought a faint smile to her despite the poor circumstances. 

Soft footsteps coming up the stairs caught her attention and took her from her thoughts. Sure enough, AJ's fuzzy head peaked into the door frame soon afterwards. The young boy gently pushed the door aside with a small creak that managed to catch Christa and Clementine's notice. "Hey, kiddo. Had enough of Louis' bullshit?" Violet greeted the boy with a smile. His lips quirked up slightly, but it couldn't compete with the slight droop of his eyes. She couldn't help but notice his movements were a little sluggish, too. Clementine beamed in his direction.

"Whatcha doing there, goofball?" His sightless mother figure welcomed. He quickly got up and sat between her and Violet.

"I wanted to come find you. Ruby thought I was getting tired, so she told me to go to bed."

Clementine managed that knowing mom-look Violet had seen her give AJ countless times. "Well,  _ are  _ you tired?" She questioned with a small grin.

The blonde couldn't hold back a laugh as he desperately tried and failed to stifle a yawn as he said, "Nope,". He glared at her with as much disapproval an exhausted six year old could muster. It only served to make it funnier for her, in turn making Clem's own giggles increase. His annoyed look turned to an exasperated one as he frowned. Regardless, he didn't resist as Clem pulled him into a one armed hug. 

"Liar," She called him out with clear amusement. "Ruby's right. It's your bedtime, anyway."

"You weren't good at bedtimes yourself, you know." Christa teased, getting Clem's lips to quirk up slightly, though Violet couldn't help but think it looked bittersweet. The boy gained an uncertain expression, glancing at Christa and Jack suspiciously. He must've tensed up because Clem's own look fell to one of concern.

"What's wrong AJ?"

He looked away almost guiltily. "... Strangers, Clem. Strangers are bad. I mean, I don't think you're bad," He quickly amended as he looked at Christa. His reluctant voice hardened a little. "But sometimes bad people seem good. Like Marlon. I know you know them, but… you knew Lily, too…" The boy trailed off. The light faded from Clem's face. She looked like she was racking her mind for a way to explain it to him, but more subtly, a new tenseness to her. Her jaw was locked tight with a sort of barely contained vehemence. Christa was visibly bewildered, but it was clear she picked up on Clementine's sudden stress as well and likely knew better than to push it. Violet herself wanted to speak up, yet the blind girlfriend looked like anything she said might result in her blowing up completely. AJ had noticed her change in demeanor as well and quickly took an apologetic tone. "I-I'm sorry, Clem, neverm-"

"No, AJ. I… it's alright. Don't be sorry for asking good questions," Clementine quickly exonerated despite the clear uncertainty she carried in her face. "... You're right. Bad people can seem good. But good people can seem bad, too. I know you're worried, but I trust her, AJ. You don't have to right now. I just want you to give her a chance. Can you do that for me?"

Violet gave a quiet sigh of relief. Okay, that went a fuckton better than expected. Clementine's moods weren't a predictable thing other than mentioning the Delta and especially Lily and Minerva was a good way to piss her off. Were it anyone but AJ, Violet doubted the capped constable would have been nearly as forgiving. AJ was a good kid, but shit did he need to learn some emotional boundaries. She tried to keep a neutral expression. It wouldn't do to show how conflicted she actually felt right now, not in front of a stranger and a kid desperately in need of stability right now. The boy in question alternated between staring at his feet and Christa. He gradually bowed his head into his guardian's chest, still looking up at Christa a little warily. "... Okay. I can do that."

Clem gained a fragile smile. "Thanks, kiddo," She murmured. The blind brunette ruffled his hair softly. "Let's get you to bed. Christa, this… this was amazing. Think we could pick this up in the morning?"

"Of course, sweetie. Probably about time for us to rest up anyway," The older woman agreed softly. Christa stood up and approached her unconscious companion. "Jack. Jack. Jack!" She called out, only getting soft snores in response. She rolled her eyes and kicked him in the shin. The fancily dressed footman awoke with a start. It drew a smirk from Violet. Seems she finally found something her and Christa were on the same thought process for.

"Motherfuckering- Jesus, could you hit any harder?" Jack demanded with a scowl. 

"Probably. Come on, the sooner we get downstairs the sooner you can get back to sleep."

"There's a couple spare cots and blankets in the back of the basement. It keeps heat in pretty well, too," Violet informed. She got up with a small grunt before walking to a small broken window. It looked out over the courtyard, but wasn't as grand a view as the one in the office proper. "Willie!"

"Yeah?" The third youngest member of the group called back, sounding mildly annoyed. He had been sitting at one of the tables fiddling with some sort of wooden knife. She always joked about him being Mitch Junior, but it seemed to become more and more true the more days passed since the death of their brash bomb-making friend.

"Take the new guys to the basement. They're in the waiting room. And don't drag your ass, I've got shit to do." She ordered. She walked off before he could try to argue, facing their two new arrivals. The blonde let out a whistle, the sound of clambering feet echoing through the halls until Rosie rocketed through the door. The pup threw herself between the students and the strangers from New Richmond with a steady warning growl. Violet scratched behind the dog's ears to calm her, though Rosie still watched them like a hawk. "Willie'll be here in a couple minutes. She's just here to help him."

"This  _ really  _ necessary? I thought we were all cool now. Aren't you two old friends?" Jack questioned Clem, Christa glancing at him in annoyance. The sightless survivor frowned a little, but nodded.

"Vi's in charge here. If she thinks it's needed, it probably is. Even for you and Christa," Clementine confirmed. Violet watched as the girl got to her feet and gently pet the dog from head to tail. The loyal guarddog licked her lips happily before resuming her intimidating posture. "She won't bite unless you make her. Just stay calm and she'll be wrapped around your finger in no time."

Soon enough, Willie was at the door and instructed Christa and Jack to follow him. After one last embrace with Clem, the second in command of the trio of soldiers led the way for her younger companion, Rosie trailing behind them with a watchful eye. Once they were gone, Violet smiled at the hand gently grasping hers from behind. She turned to find Clem's smiling face which made her grin in turn. "Hey." Was all Violet could say. Lame, maybe, but Clem had a habit of leaving her speechless. God, what a wild fucking day they'd had. It was hard to think they'd only properly reconnected just a few hours prior. 

"Hey yourself. I… I still can't believe it, you know? I thought she was gone, and now she's here..." Clementine said in astonishment. Violet knew that feeling well, though the person she felt it for was far less receptive to reuniting than Christa was. The girl shook her head. "I really, really want this to work out, Violet. I know you're afraid about it. You have every reason to be. I just… "

Violet planted a light kiss on her girlfriend's lips. A quiet gasp escaped the disabled teenager as the blonde broke it off. "I know. I think it will. I won't fuck this up, I promise."

A small blush came over Clem's tanned skin while she gained a lopsided smile. "... I know. I love you Violet."

_ "Time to not fuck up,"  _ Violet thought to herself. Five simple words. Here they go. "I… I love you too, Clem. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Clementine quietly replied. Her smile grew as she looked back to where AJ had last been, though the boy had moved a little to the right since then. A quick tug at her sleeve from the school's leader allowed the blind brunette to suavely cover her mistake. "Ready to go, AJ?"

"Uh huh. G'night, Violet." The sleepy six year old confirmed. 

"Night, little man."

With that, her two favorite people left the room. She stood alone in the waiting room, giving a sigh when she was certain everyone was out of earshot. Shit. What a day. She very nearly had Clem break up with her, got Louis shot, almost got her head blown off, and was possibly in the process of making a huge mistake all in the span of about fourteen hours. That… wasn't great. At least she'd managed to begin fixing her relationship. Clementine still gave a shit about her even after all her failures, and for that, Violet considered herself probably the luckiest person left on Earth. All she had to do was not make things worse. Easy enough, right? With Clem reassured and her prisoners/possible trade partners secured, there was only thing she had to check.

***

Violet never understood where Louis got his knack for getting hurt. Gunshots, hunting accidents, sickness, all of them and more seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet even before the end of the world. It was almost a running joke amongst the school. No matter what injuries he'd incur, they'd always seem him bounce back almost instantly with a grin on his face and a bad joke on the top of his tongue. She'd always lightly admired that about him. When she broke something, it was at least days of sulking and barbed remarks for anyone who dared to make jokes about her funny walking. In the early days, they'd usually end up with funny walks of their own after she twisted their ankle. Him, though? He could be bleeding from head to toe and still make some groan-worthily stupid crack. 

As such, it was no surprise that Ruby sounded positively exhausted when Violet knocked on the door. "What?" A muffled country voice demanded through the wood. It swung open soon after to reveal an incredibly annoyed medic. "He ain't dead. He might be soon if he doesn't keep his yap shut. You need somethin'?"

Violet nodded. "Yeah, actually. I need to talk to him about this stupid stunt of his."

Ruby's expression softened a little. "Ah'd say he needs rest, but honestly, Ah'm the one runnin' on fumes here. Here's the deal: Ah'm gonna go get some coffee. You can talk to 'im if ya want, if you stay with him until Ah get back. Off chance he gets worse, fetch me from the kitchen."

"Deal." Violet agreed. Ruby muttered some sort of thanks before firefly shuffling through the hall. The blonde quietly entered the room to find Louis almost comically tied up. His injured leg was elevated while the other was hanging limply off the bed, held in place by a belt turned into a makeshift handcuff. His hands were also buckled to the headrest. Despite that, the pianist looked more bored than actively distressed. He glanced at her and grinned, but it felt hollow. She knew what it looked like when Louis was faking a good mood. 

"Hey, Vi. I'd give you a hug, but I'm a little tied up at the moment." He joked. Yeah, he was definitely faking it if he was trying this hard. 

She shook her head as she pulled up a chair. Violet's lips curled downwards. "What the hell's going on with you, Louis?"

He looked a little startled for a second, but quickly shrugged it off. "Well, I found out getting shot in the leg hurts a lot more than getting shot in the shoulder-"

"Don't bullshit me," She interrupted with a more forceful tone. It softened as she continued. "You were being weird this morning. Way more than usual. I know you and her were drinking last night. What exactly did Clementine say?"

His false smile fell to a more genuine frown. "She just wasn't coping well. Her eyes, Minerva, everything was getting to her. I tried to help, but… she's blind, and I helped the person who did that to her. It just didn't work the way I wanted." Louis testified. Her lips thinned a little. That  _ did  _ line up with what Clem told her happened, but it was strange for him to be so vague. 

"What  _ exactly _ , Louis? Give me a play by play if you have to, but I want to know."

His expression hardened. "I told you, Vi. Nothing happened. It was just a talk. I'm fine, really. Clem probably needs a pep talk a lot more than I do." The pianist had a light tone, but there was no missing the forcefulness beneath it. In all the time she'd known him, Louis had never knowingly lied to Violet. He was probably the only person in her life who hadn't. That's why it shocked her so much that he had just tried to deceive her. Her eyes narrowed while she stood up straight.

"Who said anything about something happening, Louis?" Violet accused. He flinched. That was the exact moment she knew for sure that he was up to something.

"I meant- you thought she said something to me, right? That's what didn't happen."

"You're a shitty liar, Louis. I don't know why you're lying to me, but I know you are, and you better stop it right goddamn now."

"Honest, Violet, it wasn't supposed to happen!"

" _ What  _ wasn't supposed to happen?! Answer me, you fu-"

"I kissed Clem, alright?!" Louis shouted in exasperation. Violet's eyes widened in uncomprehending surprise even as the frantic explanation spilled out of his lips. "Well, she kissed me, but it still happened. I accidently got her drunk, we kissed, and I couldn't stand the idea of being near you two while you didn't know but I was too scared to say anything so I ran. I didn't want to tell you until everything was good with you and Clem but I almost died without ever telling you and that scares the shit out of me! So I did it! I'm sorry! I did, but I'm sorry! I-"

"Louis!" She demanded, her raised voice breaking him from his mile a minute rant. "What the fuck are you talking about? Take a breath and explain it like a normal person," The leader instructed. She could hardly even keep up with his breakneck pace. What the actual fuck did he mean he kissed Clem? He'd better have a golden goddamn explanation for himself, or she'd make sure he stayed in the nurse's office for life. Her eyes narrowing in barely bridled rage, she prompted him to continue. "How the hell did talking to her end up with both of you drunk off your asses and making out?!"

"It just… happened. Clem was talking about how she felt like she'd never be good enough for you. That she'd always be a third wheel to you and Minerva. She was still pretty down even after I convinced her it wasn't true, so… I sat down and handed her some of Marlon's old booze stash. And you know what? She was happy, Vi. She was the happiest I've seen her in weeks, maybe even as long as I've known her, and after everything she went through I couldn't take that away from her. So, we just kept drinking."

Violet scoffed as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, fucking awesome job you did 'convincing' her, seeing as how she broke down crying and begging me to love her today while you were busy fucking around outside. A plus, Louis!" The blonde spat with venomous sarcasm. An intense look of guilt played out over his face, but it seemed to blend with a daring look of his own anger.

"Oh, because you were doing SO much better, huh?!" He roared back to her surprise. "I get I fucked up. I'm used to people telling me that, or to fuck off, or shut up, but just this once, listen to me! Before today, when was the last time you had a  _ real  _ conversation with Clem? Take it from a guy that knows a thing or two about rotting relationships: that wasn't one shitty day getting to her. God knows how long she's been feeling like that, but I PROMISE you it's not just about the vote. This should be about the fact that she's in a dark place right now."

Violet was livid at this point.  _ Louis _ of all people was going to lecture her about fucking with people's emotions?! Mister snotty goddamn richkid who threw away everything just to be an asshole to another asshole?! "What the hell do you know about her?! Do you really think there's anything she wouldn't trust me with that  _ you  _ would know?!"

The pianist scowled at her, trying to throw his hands up in the air only to be stopped by his restraints. "I know she thinks she's a monster, Vi! Inside and out. Did you know that? She acted like saying she looked pretty was the nicest thing someone's ever said to her. Isn't that the sort of thing people are  _ supposed  _ to say when they're together? She kissed me because she felt wanted for once, Violet. I shouldn't be the one doing that for her, not like that." Louis' voice swung between scolding and pleading as he attempted to make his case. Violet snarled at her nearly lifelong friend.

"So it's my fault you got her fucking wasted? Or that you decided to hit on her  _ knowing  _ how out of it she was? Fuck you, Louis! You don't know her like I do, so don't sit there and tell me I'm abusing her when you don't know a goddamn thing about it!" The blonde shouted at him as she drew closer and closer, pointing in his face accusingly by the end. A voice in her mind whispered that he wasn't wrong, that she had indeed been mistreating Clementine whether she realized it or not. She squashed it like an insect. That was bullshit, and even if it wasn't, there was no way HE could claim the high ground after all he'd pulled. "If you had it your way, she'd be dead right now! Her and AJ both!" Her voice raised with every word. Louis winced at the accusation, a guilty look in his eyes.  _ "Good,"  _ She thought bitterly. Un-fucking-believable. Violet wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of him right now, only barely restraining herself. He had the nerve to make her scared for him, willing to  _ get shot _ for him, and he went behind her back like this? Not just that, but to imply Clementine's sorry state was  _ her  _ fault? Fuck him. Violet couldn't stand to look at Louis right now. She turned away with a growl. "Stay here. Shut up. Try to talk to me or Clem and I'll cut your fucking tongue out."

"Vi-"

"It should've been you!" Violet hissed out with a glare. "None of this would have happened if they just took you!"

Even through her blinding anger, she could already feel regret trying to break through it as pain flashed across Louis' face before he looked away solemnly. She wanted to say she didn't mean it. She  _ wished  _ she didn't mean it. But… she did. She wanted nothing more than for Clem to be whole again, regardless of who would have been taken in her place. That would be the case if it hadn't been her those bastards took. If it'd been Louis, he probably wouldn't have fought as hard. They wouldn't have hurt him as much as they did Clem. Deep down, though, she didn't really want it to be him. At heart, Violet wished she was the one they took. She could have handled it. Her friends would be safe. Maybe Clem could have come up with a better plan than they had. Despite all her regrets, the fact was they failed Clementine, and now it was up to them to help her as best they could. Louis closed his eyes. "I know."

She opened her mouth to apologize, but found herself unable to do so. She was still furious with him, a sensation that quickly burned through her empathy and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Violet's lips thinned and she briskly abandoned the room. She shoved passed Ruby in the hall, not bothering to listen to the confused and annoyed questions the girl shouted out to her. Contradicting emotions and thoughts swirled like a hurricane in her mind. This… this was bullshit. She needed to think, and she wouldn't get it with him. She wouldn't find it with Clem, either. Not right now. Like hell she'd talk about it to any of the others either. She wanted nothing more than to scale the belltower and have everything and everyone fuck off for an hour. Of course, there's no way she'd be stupid enough to run off while strangers were behind her walls. All she could do was go to her office, brood, and hope her fellow students could simply deal with their own problems for one night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For once in this story, things are actually going pretty good for Clementine. Kinda figures it's at the same time it's all going to hell for everyone else.


	16. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis tries to figure out how to live with his mistake. Minerva makes her move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psychopaths are fun to write.

_"Look at you, fucking ingrates. You don't even know how good you got it._

_Lambs to the slaughter, no shepherd to guide you!"_

The cool night air was significantly warmer than the icy chills that Minerva had grown accustomed to up north as Omar delivered her into the courtyard. It was a nice difference she hadn't noticed before tonight. Between the curfew aboard the boat and being imprisoned in the nurse's office, she hadn't been in the open night air in quite some time aside from the march back to Ericson's that she was largely unconscious for. It wasn't the sort of thing she appreciated when she lived at the school either. Looking back on it, she didn't appreciate a lot of what the school offered. She always thought something about it could be better. Marlon being an asshole, Omar's OCD fucking up their supply stacks, the walls not holding the heat quite right in the winters, there was always something to complain about. In truth, it was largely the reason she had adapted to the Delta so quickly. If she had been given the option of fighting for them instead of being kidnapped, she would have chosen it in a heartbeat so long as she could have brought Sophie, Tenn and Violet with her. Ericson's was a shithole that was only getting worse over time, and she'd gotten tired of waking up each morning wondering if she's have to skip another meal for Tenn to have enough food.

Just about the only thing she didn't hate about the school was the other kids, but even then, only her family, Violet, and Louis were especially close with her. The others were friends to be sure, but she'd gotten used to leaving friends behind. After all, with a deadbeat con artist of a dad, they had to constantly keep moving. It was the same mental pathway it always was: Her family, the Delta, and Ericson's. They were the three topics that consumed her thought process at all times, and all of them were painful at best and downright crippling in the worst of times. One always inevitably led to the other in a twisted conveyor belt of regrets and resentment. Her family was the reason she got shopped to the school in the first place. It was also the thing that kept her there. Losing her family made her stay with the Delta out of shame. In a way, she supposed she should be thankful for her harsh upbringing. Her demented father's bullying and beatings taught her how falling in line could let her avoid pain. 'The value of obedience' as Lily would've put it. While Violet would be sitting in detention for telling the coach to go fuck himself to his face when he'd insist on group punishments, Minerva would just quietly carry out his instructions. While Mitch, Sophie, Aasim, and Marlon got into shouting matches about who deserved to be in charge, she would do her shifts as efficiently as she could before wordlessly going off to hang out with Violet or Louis. While Sophie's body was rotting away in some godforsaken forest, she was here, _alive_. Lily's training had gone even farther than her father's abuse, but it had still been her guide in life, and it had served her well overall. Of course, that didn't stop her from despising him with every fiber of her being. At least Clementine had the excuse of spending eight years in the apocalypse before she became psychotic. He, however, was as twisted as Commander Caul with even fewer redeeming factors long before the world went to hell. What sort of man expected a four year old to refer to their father by their last name? 'Mister Rockingham' enforced that rule with a closed fist and folded up belt. He treated them like the scum of the earth from birth and never even had the decency to tell them why. The only reason the cold hearted bastard adopted Tenn was for yet another one of his cons to spin some story about being a kindly gentleman wanting to help those even worse off than themselves. What a load of horseshit. To this day, she still wasn't sure what brainless pencil pusher thought it was a good idea to let him adopt a child. She also wasn't sure if she should have strangled them for giving Tenn to an abusive asshole like Dale Rockingham or thanked them for giving her one of the few bright spots in her entire life. For whatever reason, her old man never tried to hit Tenn. He'd bluster about it, threaten to do it if she or Sophie dared disobey him, but never actually did. No, instead he directed all of his ire physically onto his wife and daughters. It probably said something about his mental state, some underlying hatred of women and frustration of lacking a 'true' son. The quacks that wrote up her psyche file probably could have had a field day dissecting all his loose screws if they gave a damn about anything other than collecting a paycheck. End of the day, though, the bastard was more than likely dead and the knowledge was a cold comfort in a blizzard of poor life choices.

The man before her reminded her a lot of her father. The way he carried himself, the disgustingly high confidence his posture displayed with every step as he struted through the courtyard at Aasim's lead. His cold, judging gaze for everything committing the crime of existing in his presence. She didn't recognize him, and that alone meant he was a threat. Strangers were worse than the dead nine times out of ten, and that one in ten usually wound up dead pretty quickly. This was without a doubt one of the strangers Violet had gone out to confront earlier. He wasn't carrying a weapon that she could see despite the well-worn leather holster on his hip. Aasim's bow was slung across his back, but she could make out a small bulge in the studious pyromaniac's flannel hoodie. Minerva glowered at the sight. That would explain where the mystery man's gun went, but it was hardly a comfort. Aasim knew his way around a lighter far better than he did a pistol. Having someone with as little experience as him carry a gun was just begging for their apparent new prisoner to overpower him and put a bullet in his brain. Why was everyone in this school so damn reckless? Her opinion only worsened when Omar called out to the pair. "Yo! Aasim! Who's this guy?"

Minerva's eyes widened in disbelief. Omar was never a genius, but he wasn't an idiot either. At least, he wasn't before she was taken. Yet here he was, announcing himself to what for all he knew was an enemy combatant. She'd have already shot him if she were in this man's boots. She could only shoot him a disapproving glare. Both men turned to them, Aasim gaining a look of shock while the other's shifted from surprise to suspicion in an instant. "Jesus. What the hell happened to her?" The teenage warden called back. Her icy blue eyes rolled at him. As if he couldn't already put it together himself. Aasim glanced back at the stranger that was currently sizing her up. Hips, boots, coat, his eyes danced across every place one might reasonably hide a weapon. Her jaw squared as she returned the favor. He was a clearly a soldier too. Her eyes locked onto an obscured scar nearly hidden behind his green vest. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out what it was. It _could_ be a normal scar… but it could also be a brand. If it was a brand, then he was marked for death.  Nobody from the New Frontier could be trusted. If Violet was stupid enough to let some of that scum inside the school, Minerva would have to correct her ex's mistake by force. She tugged uselessly against her restraints for what must have been the hundredth time that evening. She'd likely have at least a rash by the time they were removed, but sitting idly by while these morons got themselves killed wasn't an option.

"She and Clem got into an argument, and… yeah. Why are you taking him to the basement?" Omar replied as he walked closer, almost literally dragging her with him. She quietly scoffed. 'Argument' her ass. Pity flashed over Aasim's expression before refocusing into a more stoic look.

"Vi's orders. They're staying the night."

Minerva wanted to punch someone. Not only were they _inside_ the school, but their oh-so brilliant leader was letting them stay overnight? It was a fucking miracle Violet even bothered with a guard. "Are you insane?!" The redhead shouted in disbelief. "They shot at you, and you just let them in?! Are you trying to get people killed?!"

Aasim glowered at her. "You're one to talk."

The invader crossed his arms. "That the sort of treatment I can expect?"

"Depends on how much you piss Clementine off," The former firebug muttered with a hint of bitterness. He shook his head and fixed Omar with an even gaze. "Take her to the music room or something. Don't leave her alone, either."

"Take your own advice." Minerva shot back, focusing solely on the enemy soldier. His weary gaze drifted from her no doubt heavily bruised face and impromptu handcuffs to the two unrestrained students and back again. His disapproving frown deepened. She struggled against Omar as he tried to pull her along, fixing him with an icy glare. It didn't seem to phase the boy too much other than the guilty expression that took over his features.

"I want an explanation, and it better be a damn good one. What the hell is going on here? Why is there a girl tied up in your basement?" The middle aged stranger demanded. Minerva quickly found herself out of earshot of the conversation despite her best efforts. Damn it all! If she could just get out of these cuffs, she could do what was needed for them to be safe. The only ones standing between safety and Ericson's were the students themselves. Even now, they still didn't understand that it was all for them. Every tough call, every evil act, it was all to keep them safe. Yet here they were, throwing her in a cell while inviting wolves into pen. Surely even Clementine would have to have enough sense in her to know this was a bad idea and try to dissuade Violet.

"You're making a mistake." Minerva hissed out at Omar as they reached the stairway to the admin building.

"You've been saying that a lot." The chef commented with a hint of concern.

"You've been making a lot of mistakes. I don't expect you to trust me, but you need to listen to me. These people are worse than the Delta ever was. I've fought them before. If you want anyone at this school to survive, you have to let me go." The former marauder pleaded as earnestly as she could. Omar was the only one that didn't completely despise her or put dangerously stupid amounts of faith in people. He was her best chance of convincing someone in the school of what had to be done. The resident cook paused his march. Minerva looked back at him with faint hope.

"... I really wish I could trust you, Minnie. I really do. But I can't. I don't like doubting you, but even if you're right, wouldn't letting you go be just as risky? You said as much before these people showed up." He pointed out with a frown. Whatever hope there might've been was quickly buried deep. She turned back from him without a word. Figures all her bluster about them trusting her too much would come back to bite her in the ass. At least he was partially paying attention. Omar prattled out some vague promises of things getting better over time, but the girl was more focused on her surroundings. The fact was she'd never be welcome at the school again, and she came to terms with that the night Sophie died in her arms. Nothing could change that. Besides, it wouldn't matter anyway if her instincts were right. She'd just have to do what she could to protect the only family she had left despite their best efforts.

***

**Three Hours Later**

Louis always hated hospitals. Long waits staring at drab walls, probably while in either emotional or physical pain? Yeah, that was about the farthest thing from his style as possible. He hated them when he had his tonsils removed, he hated them when his grandma broke her hip, and he hated their jury rigged hospital right now as he frowned up at the ceiling and his leg ached like a bitch where a bullet tore through it. That pain, however, was nothing compared to the crushing desolation he felt right now. He had completely destroyed one of his oldest and strongest friendships in the span of about five minutes. Nobody had looked at him like Violet had since the day his father abandoned him all those years ago. The pure revialement and contempt in her gaze pierced his soul and branded itself into his mind as a reminder of his latest unforgivable mistake. It wasn't his first, far from it really, but the freshness of it made it sting so much worse than the older sins did. Why did he lie? Violet never lied to him, not about things that mattered. Yet he repaid that honesty with deception, because he was still the weasley little coward he had always been. He failed yet another best friend. How many was he up to now? Definitely at least three.

Ruby had showed up almost instantly after Violet left, pelting him with questions about why the blonde stormed off. The questions soon changed to what exactly she'd said to him once the medic noticed his unusually sullen demeanor. He didn't answer. Rude as it was, Ruby was definitely the last thing on his mind right now. His friendship with Violet was fucked. Chances were Clementine would find out about it and hate him too. He knew first-hand that a person didn't need eyes to give him a dirty look. Louis would be getting a lot of those if Violet told everyone. That wasn't really her style however. No, it was far more likely that she'd just stop talking to him and possibly people all together. She'd just rely on pointed glares at him to communicate what was wrong and make them come to him for an explanation _knowing_ that he couldn't lie to save his life. It was cruel, vindictive, and excessively Violet. Wouldn't be too surprising if the school as a whole reviled him entirely soon after. If they did, that was basically it for him. As shown by today's enlightening little hunting expedition, he was completely unqualified to even hunt for other people, let alone himself. He'd probably starve to death in a week out there. Maybe his corpse would wander into one of the traps and they'd take turns beating the shit out of him. They'd probably find that more entertaining than his stupid jokes ever were.

Louis forced his eyes shut. No, that wasn't true. His friends weren't remorseless psychopaths. They wouldn't cast him out to die even if it would be totally deserved. If they managed to let Minerva stay, it was pretty unlikely they'd kick him out. Of course, that didn't mean he'd be forgiven, let alone be everyone's buddy like he had been for years. But… they didn't care about what he did to his parents, did they? That was arguably a lot worse. They'd all done something to end up at this school. They'd all forgiven each other for their crimes. Violet wouldn't get over any time soon if ever, not that he could blame her for it in the slightest. The others, though? They might give him a chance. The thought perked Louis up a little. If he was incredibly lucky, maybe Clementine would even accept his apology. He'd fucked up, there was no doubt about that. It didn't mean he was irredeemable. Still, the only person at the school who he knew for sure would forgive him was Tenn, and that was only because the kid didn't have a mean bone in his body. He forgave Marlon for god's sake. That left the question of forgiveness for the other residents of the school. Aasim and Omar probably wouldn't care that much. He doubted AJ was old enough to understand why what Louis did was bad even if someone explained it to him. Ruby would probably kick his ass considering how close she and Clementine had become since her injury. She always valued honesty, though. Maybe things would go smoother if he admitted it of his own volition? The first doctor stopped bothering trying to talk to him at some point, just quietly going about whatever medical things she was doing while letting an awkward silence hang over them like a fog. He'd meant to learn some of her medical skills over the years, but the pianist tended to be either too bored or too squeamish to actually pay attention to her lessons. Guess that could be put on the list of instantly abandoned hobbies. Wait, no, he couldn't let himself do what he always did and let his mind wander to softer topics whenever things got tough. No more running. Taking one last breath to psyche himself up, he let the words tumble out of his mouth. "Clem kissed me."

Ruby stopped in the middle of whatever she was doing and turned to him with a baffled expression. "'Scuse me?"

"Me and Clem got drunk last night. Like, super drunk. We were talking, I complimented her, she kissed me, and I lied to Violet about it. She found out. That's why she was so pissed." The ashamed musician admitted.

The doctor's expression morphed into an odd mix of disappointment and confusion.

"Didja mean to?"

Louis blanched. "... What?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Did you mean to make out with a girl knowin' she was with someone?"

"Jesus, no, of course not! It just happened!"

"Good. In that case, Ah get it. Heat a'th' moment an' all that, right?" The country girl said with a hint of relief as she walked towards him. The clown sputtered as she gave him his second firm slap this evening. "Do it again and yer a piece a shit. That happens, Vi'll be the least a'yer problems. Ya hear me?"

Once the initial surprise wore off, he gave a firm nod. "Loud and clear, doc."

Her expression softened. "Alrighty then… so, _how_ exactly did it happen? Ah thought Clem was inta girls."

He cracked a tiny smile. "Would you believe me if I said I was just that charming?" He joked halfheartedly. The girl's lip quirked up for a moment but got no reaction otherwise. He sighed, lips thinning as he debated whether to answer or not. Violet deserved- no, _needed_ to know exactly what was up with Clementine if the girl's mental state had even a slight hope of recovering. Ruby was the closest thing the group had to an actual doctor both medically and emotionally. She could probably help the blind brunette far more than he ever could. At the same time, though, she told him those grim thoughts in trust that it would _just_ be him hearing them. He had no right to be airing her dirty laundry to anyone that stopped to listen. If he hadn't betrayed her trust before, he most certainly would be now. Probably the best compromise he could do was just be a little vague about it. "Yeah, me neither… she was bad after the vote. So bad that 'bad' can't describe it. She blamed me for Minerva staying. Talked about how fucked up the past two weeks have been. Hell, her whole life, really. She seemed better after venting for a while, but still pretty down. I got the oh-so bright idea to share a drink with her. Problem was, she really liked drinking, and I really liked seeing her happy."

Ruby was pinching the bridge of her nose in clear exasperation. "You let her drink herself _and_ you silly 'cause she's apparently a happy drunk," The redhead concluded. Louis clicked his tongue in preparation for a response, but closed it as he realized that actually summed it up accurately. He nodded in confirmation. She gave a sigh that could have been either annoyance or disappointment depending on how he decided to look at it. "Word of advice, Lou? Leave the medicatin' t'me. I get yer a fun party kinda guy, but givin' booze to someone havin' an episode like that is a good way t'make shit worse. Frankly, yer lucky it didn't make her depression worse."

… Well, fuck. The one part of his plan he thought worked well was actually super dangerous and dumb. Louis frowned, looking to the floor. Thank god it gave Clementine even a brief moment of happiness instead of the dark spiral it apparently could have become. Still, yet another disastrous decision under his belt. Ruby shook her head at him. "You didn't know. You thought it was helpin' her. Can't blame you for tryin' t'do the right thing."

"Except you literally just said I could've made everything worse. Pretty sure I just committed malpractice." He lamented.

"Unless you got a doctorate Ah don't know about, nah. Movin' on from that, though, what happened 'tween drinkin' with her and… y'know?"

He blew out a bit of air in a vain attempt to stall. "We were just joking around. About as close to small talk two drunks can have, you know? But I guess I was just saying whatever came to mind, and I kinda ended up saying she was beautiful. She… she thought she looked like a monster."

"Poor girl…" Ruby muttered. His ill tempered friend frowned deeply at the news. He nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't believe it, so I just kept telling her how awesome she is. I was about to make some stupid joke when she just shot up and kissed me. Me! You might be shocked to hear, but no girl's ever kissed me. Like, ever. I didn't know what to do, so… I kinda just ran away."

Ruby chuckled lightly to his chagrin. "A girl kisses ya… and you run away?"

He frowned at her. "My lack of game isn't the point here, Ruby!"

Her enthusiasm melted away as quickly as it appeared. "Yeah, yer right. Shouldn't be gigglin' like a schoolgirl anyhow. This is mah fault to begin with. Ah never shoulda reacted like I did back at the shack. That's prolly why she's thinkin' like that." Ruby bewailed. She shook her head with a sigh as she started changing his mildly bloodied bandages.  "Damn it. That helps explain why she did what she did to Minnie…"

Louis' stomach dropped. What she did to Minnie? That was ominous. Down right disconcerting, actually. Clementine could be incredibly vicious when she really wanted someone dead, and he couldn't think of anyone she'd want six feet under more than Violet's forsaken lover. The doctor didn't seem too concerned, so that was hopefully a sign that the girl wasn't dead. Even Ruby would have a problem if their blind friend flatout murdered Minerva. Regardless, whatever happened couldn't have been good. "I probably won't want to hear it, but what did Clementine do to her?"

"Beat the daylights outta her. She wouldn't keep her damn trap shut and kept baitin' Clem. I already talked to her 'bout it." The medic revealed with clear exasperation. The blood-soaked gauze soon found themselves tossed haphazardly in the trash as she began wrapping a fresh covering over the wound. "Ah got Minnie cleaned up. Omar's handlin' her, last Ah saw. This… thanks fer comin' clean on this, Lou. Ah'll try talkin' to Vi when Ah get the chance, maybe calm her down a bit. In th'meantine, don't do anything else stupid, alright?"

He considered making a sly remark, but the timing seemed poor. Instead, he merely nodded. "Doctor's orders? Will do."

She gave a hum of acknowledgement, cutting the gauze and tying them off. The doctor stood up and looked him in the eyes. "One last thing- you talk about it with Clem yet?"

Louis blinked at her. Talk about it… with _Clem_. Yeah. No. "Um… that's a terrible idea."

She crossed her arms at him with a slight scowl. "She's th' one who kissed ya, right? Yer so worried about Vi, but seems to me like she oughta be the one you have a chat with. It occur to you that maybe she's feelin' as guilty as you are?"

… oh, FUCK. That- that was completely possible and made him an absolute dickhead if it was true. His head slowly fell back onto the pillow as a groan escaped his lips. "... Well... guess I'm talking to Clem at some point. I… thanks for the help, Rubes."

She uncrowded her arms. "Uh huh. Keep yer leg still or you'll screw with the healin' process. Ah'll be back in a couple hours t'change yer bandages. Word a'advice? Make it soon. Dilly dallyin'll only make it worse." The doctor advised before walking out the door. Louis laid alone in the wake of her departure with only his thoughts to keep him company. Well… that went about about the closest to good as it possibly could have. It was still bad, but hey, she didn't hate him with every fiber of her being. That was a win in his book. The downside was Ruby was absolutely right: he needed to talk to Clementine. Mentally unwell best friend Clementine. Mentally unwell best friend that beat the shit out of a trained soldier several years her senior Clementine. He let out an airy laugh. He wouldn't have to worry about starving to death, at least. God, that's gonna suck. Still, it was his mess to begin with… psft. Here he was throwing a big pity soiree for himself while his friends needed help. What happened to stepping the fuck up? He could hate himself later. Never again, preferably, but his clusterfuck of a headspace was never gone forever. As long as he could be of use to someone, he could start paying back for his mistakes.

***

It felt bittersweet to be back in the music room. Minerva used to love this place so much. How many hours had she spent here strumming her guitar, or writing songs with Louis? Singing for the other kids? It might've even been nice to be sitting at the piano again if she wasn't handcuffed to the bench. Her eyes briefly glanced over the open songbook resting above the keys. Music sheets were like a second language to her back then. A small hint of nostalgia was starting to take hold until she realized what page it was opened to. Christ, she couldn't escape the blind brunette no matter where she was. Minerva quickly looked away. It felt like a lifetime since she'd even thought of music, let alone actually played it. A part of her wondered if she's still be any good at it, but the girl forced it from her mind. That didn't matter, especially not right now. Not when the only family she had left was in danger.

Omar was quietly browsing through the bookshelves and storage boxes littered around the music room, seemingly trying to pretend the restrained raider wasn't there. That was the way it'd been going for about four hours now. The silence would be deafening to most, but she'd grown to appreciate quiet while it lasted. It was better than the sounds of gunfire and the moans of the dead, at least. Still, it did little to soothe her uneasy mind. For all she knew, every second could be the moment those strangers made their move. If the Delta taught her anything, it was that it was almost always better to take out a threat before it could become a threat in the first place. Every scavenger and enemy soldier would have that thought process, so having any other was suicidal. Minerva was a lot of things, but eager to die was not one of them. She'd been trying to wear down the belt ever since Ruby tied it on her to little success. After hours of effort, it felt slightly looser, but even that could be because of her now heavy bruised and reddened wrists simply bringing on wishful thinking. In truth, she still didn't have much of a plan for what happened if she actually did break free. She was far from an idiot, but she never really had a mind for strategy. Always a follower rather than a leader. Even so, she needed to do _something_ . Sitting around in a world like this was begging for death. If she could just find a way out of these binds, she could make it up as she went. The only question was how. Her scrutinizing eyes flicked back to the piano. Maybe… fuck. She grit her teeth. It was the only way. The only way she could get free was if he _fully_ dropped his guard. The only way to do that… was be the girl he remembered. "... Does Louis still play?"

A beat passed without response, Minerva glancing back at him to find a befuddled looking Omar. "... What?" He questioned. She forced herself to keep from glaring, instead nodding towards the piano. She could practically hear the gears clanking desperately in his head at her attempt at small talk. He finally seemed to compute it with a nod of his own. "Uh, yeah. He's actually been doing it more, lately. Trying to teach AJ I guess."

The stray's kid. She hadn't had many run ins with him, but the few she did painted a vivid picture. Confident, decently smart, distrustful, and not afraid to kill the people he deemed threats. It stunned her to think he had become so adult when he couldn't have been more than half Tenn's age. She couldn't decide if that was a point for or against Clementine. It was good that he was prepared for the world, but how much horror had that maniac made him endure to get to this point? Nothing could save her if she dared trying to make Tenn like that. Despite the dark thoughts bubbling just beneath the surface, Minerva kept a neutral expression. "He still suck as much as he did when I… left?" She continued. Her attempted light tone came out more as a sour statement of fact. The cook let out a small scoff.

"Yeah. I hope for all our sakes the kid's better at it than he is," Omar confirmed with bittersweet amusement. This was probably as uncomfortable for him as it was for her, but he seemed to be grateful enough for whatever conversation he could get. His mistake. The deceptively fit teen approached her somewhat cautiously, keeping enough distance to make her job difficult while still maintain a veneer of pleasantry. He hovered on the opposite end of the bench, unwilling to sit down that close to her apparently. It was unbelievably frustrating how he just picked and chose when to use common sense around her. If they'd displayed this much in the first place, she wouldn't need to break out and fix their mistake. "God knows AJ needs something fun these days… you still into music?"

She gave him a blank stare. He at least had the decency to look guilty as he realized how stupid of a question it was. Still, a disapproving glare was far more of a Minerva response than a Minnie one, so she tersed out an answer. "It wasn't one of the Delta's priorities."

He looked away. "I'm sorry, Minnie, I wasn't thinking."

 _"Nothing unusual then,"_ She thought bitterly. Choking down her pride, she instead gave an acknowledging hum. Minerva continued meddling with her cuffs despite the mounting pain it was causing with every twist of her wrist. She could definitely feel it loosening at least a little by now. Until she was out, however, she needed to keep up the act. "... Violet's in charge now. How'd that happen? She was a wallflower a year ago."

Omar sighed, a small frown coming to him. "When Marlon got shot, everyone was a mess. Everyone but her. Louis, Mitch, even I was pissed off. Violet, though… she didn't care. Honestly, I think she was glad he died. While everyone else was trying to deal with it, she just took over. Then the whole Delta thing happened and she just stayed in charge. She's just been different ever since Clem and AJ showed up. More confident."

Minerva turned back to the songbook to hide her scowl. It always went back to fucking Clementine. She supposed she owed the sightless survivor and her boy for giving Marlon what he deserved, but that was yet another member of the school dead because of her. They murdered the leader of the school, and they still let then stay there. If that didn't sum up everything wrong with Violet's leadership, nothing did. A brief silence fell over the two, Minerva's resentment interfering with her escape plan. Still, she needed to keep him talking, and there was more she wanted to know anyway. "Louis is different."

"That's new, too. He started taking things seriously after… you know. Said he was tried of letting people down," The chef revealed. Minerva was close to being impressed. He was definitely more capable than the clown of a best friend she'd left behind a year prior. It made sense that Clementine was the one to make him change. Knowing Louis, he probably did it to try sweeping the brunette off her feet before Violet beat him to it. The thought sent a new surge of anger through the girl as she pulled against her cuff as hard as she could. She hissed as the leather mercilessly scraped against her apparently friction-burned wrist. Godammit, if she kept doing this, she'd strip the skin down to her veins before she ever broke free of the belt. His eyes widened in alarm at her sudden show of pain, his gaze quickly turning to her firmly secured hands. "Oh my god… you're bleeding," He pointed out. A quick glance downward revealed he was correct, small lines of crimson slowly dripping down her wrist down to the floor. "... Does that hurt?"

"The hell do you think?" Minerva spat out before she could stop herself. He thankfully didn't seem too bothered by the piercing remark and instead focused on her bindings. This was her way out. If his sympathy outweighed his common sense, she was as good as free. Grinding her teeth, she hissed out, "Yes. A lot."

The burly student kept looking between her cuffs and her eyes. "... I can't. Sorry, Minerva."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You can. Don't you think I would've done something by now if I wanted to?" She lied through her teeth. The retired raider put on the most pleading look she could manage. It was this or nothing. Her heartbeat resounded in her ear with each passing second. She silently prayed to whatever if anything was out there for this to work.

Omar's lips thinned. "... How can I be sure?"

Time to seal it. "I swear it on Sophie."

His eyes widened in surprise. He took a deep breath and quietly walked behind her. She felt one hand grip both of hers while the other unbuckled the belt. Bingo. Omar let out a startled grunt as Minerva headbutted him, stumbling back only to have her land a sloppy kick in his gut as she shot to her feet. The belt's loosened hold on her hands broke off completely with a firm pull as she launched herself from the bench with all her might and turned to face him. A second kick soon followed the first and knocked him to his knees. She rushed behind him while he doubled over in pain and desperately wrapped the belt around his neck before kicking him down to the floor. Her hands gripped onto the aged leather as fiercely as she could, pressing it against his throat with enough force to strangle him. His powerful grip tugged at her former restraints fruitlessly as it suffocated him. The marauder mentally counted every second that she spent depriving him of oxygen. He needed to be out of the picture, but she didn't fight this hard to save her friends just to start killing them herself. Five… six… seven… eight… the boy went limp in her grasp, and she released her deathgrip on the belt. Holding back like this was risky. She'd have to work quick. The redhead let out a grunt of effort, lugging the larger boy to the piano and slumping him against the bench. She quickly unwrapped the belt from his neck and instead tightly swathed it around his hands and the leg of the seat. It probably wouldn't hold long with his strength, but it would buy her time to get to do what was needed. Once she was satisfied he couldn't move, Minerva speedily searched his pockets and withdrew a slightly rusted Swiss army knife. It would have to do for the moment.

Minerva carefully opened the door, letting the aged wood slowly creep open on its own before peeking her head out. Without any sign of the other students or the invaders, she dashed out into the hall as quietly as she could manage. The protesting groans of the floorboards made her cringe with every step, but they didn't seem to betray her movements to anyone. No going back now. They'd never thank her for it, but that didn't matter. Keeping them safe was more important than clinging on to what little pity they had for her.

She'd save them all, no matter who had to get hurt along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're approaching the end of this episode, but never fear! Unlike the real TFS, this one has five episodes, and thus is far from over!


	17. Falling Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a BIGGY. Like, holy fuck, 17 pages in Google Docs and nearly 11,000 words. That's almost twice the average words per chapter. That's part of why it's coming out so late.

_“You know the thing about people like you, Kenny? You're just a bomb waitin' to go off._

_Everyone talks about you behind your back because they're afraid of you._

_Mike. Bonnie. Sarita. Everyone around you knows that sooner or later they're gonna end up dead._

_Sarita knew it, I know it, and so does Clementine!”_

Clementine let out a displeased hum, frowning as she found herself pulled from the most peaceful sleep she'd had in quite some time. It'd been dreamless, which for her, was the best she could ask for. It didn't bring back old traumas like her nightmares, nor did it have the bittersweet sting of her visits with Lee and the other dead loved ones. Besides, at least when her sleep was dreamless her mind didn't cruelly grant her sight in her imagination just to rip it away again when she woke up. Little hurt more than picturing her friends in her dreams and then remember she'd never see the real thing again. A disappointed sigh escaped her as she became more conscious of her surroundings. Her bed felt unusually hard beneath her, almost rocklike compared to the relatively comfortable mattress she'd grown accustomed to over the past month. The room felt a little stuffier as well, the more she thought about. AJ probably just threw another blanket on her during the night in an attempt to save her from the mildly chilly night air that subtly drifted through the old window. A small smile came to her lips at the idea. Ever the hero, her little goofball. She momentarily considered just going back to sleep, one luxury living in the school had brought her, until she realized what exactly had woken her up: she could hear the hauntingly familiar sound of groaning metal and lapping water.

Her eyes shot open as she jumped to her feet, pulse skyrocketing as she found herself back in her cell aboard the ship. She sputtered a little when she realized she could actually _see_ where she was until the shock turned to annoyance. If she could see, then it was a dream. Nothing real to fear, but also nothing real to make her temporarily returned vision not a painful sting in her heart. A scowling frown came to her lips as she sat back down on her bunk. Great. Why not end the day with a nightmare, just to twist that knife a little more. Her eyes looked over the cell, finding it exactly as she remembered it. The smell of rust and river water filled her nostrils with an overpowering metallic twang. It was far too reminiscent of fresh blood for her tastes.

She stared down at her hands, idling twiddling her thumbs. There wasn't much else to do, really. It was hardly the first time she's been back here. It always ended the same way; someone she loved having their eyes cut out by a twisted mirror of herself in excruciating detail. Sometimes it was AJ, others it was Violet, but it was always someone dear to her. It'd been a while since she had this one, though. Much of her sleep had thankfully been dreamless, the nightmares more common in the first few days than they were in recent times. That didn't change the current situation, however. Her mind was as much a prison as the boat was at the moment, a hostage to her own spiteful imagination. She had no doubt that some horror would be waiting for her the second she dared to step out of her cell just as it always was. The traumatized teenager didn't know if it was possible to wait out a nightmare, but she'd just have to try.

Admittedly, this was a little different than most of her bad dreams. She usually didn't realize what it was until it was already too late, but she was conscious enough to recognize this one instantly. Most times she would remain unaware right up until the blade was already embedding itself in her skull and she woke up screaming. Clementine gave a huff, lazily falling back on the shitty little cot that she'd spent some of the worst moments of her life on. She buried her face in her rock of a pillow and closed her eyes. Might as well get used to this again so she didn't wake up too disappointed. Seeking sleep while in a dream seemed like a stupid idea, but who was there to judge her for it? The blind brunette tried to focus on the gentle lapping of the river waves to lull herself to sleep, trying to pretend her imagination had let her be anywhere other than this godforsaken ship. What felt like hours passed while she tossed and turned in frustration. It wasn't enough for her to suffer this bullshit in real life, she had to dream of it in mind numbingly boring detail too?

A new noise broke the monotony in the brig as footsteps echoed through the long halls. Her frown deepened further and further until it transformed into a snarl when they stopped in front of her cell. "Show yourself." An all too familiar voice instructed. She considered just staying in bed, but this boredom was as torturous as just facing the horrors and was taking far longer. Might as well speed it up and get back to her relatively happy day to day life. She got to her feet and walked towards the door, feeling angrier with every step. Her blood was boiling by the time she reached the window and came face to face to Minerva. She had a tray of food identical to the first Clem had received in the Delta's custody, another spiteful reminder of Lily's so-called 'mercy'.

"Fuck you, you evil bitch! You hear me?!" Clementine howled out with fire in her eyes. A flash of annoyance appeared and disappeared almost instantaneously on Minerva's face. Rather than act on it, however, the raider merely rolled her icy blue eyes.

"That's mature."

"Like cutting people's eyes out is better." The disgruntled prisoner hissed. A hint of puzzlement broke through the redhead's measured expression.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She questioned, sounding as annoyed as she was confused. Clementine huffed as she shoved an accusative finger through the barred windows.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about, you goddamn snake! You shoved a knife in my eyes! YOU RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE!" She screamed, anger seeping into her voice more and more with every word until she shoved her hand through the cell door in an attempt to grab the girl she hated so much.  Her howls of disdain turned to ones of pain as the raider easily dodged her sloppy grab and twisted her wrist with ease before tossing it back against the door. Clementine's eyes went wide at the unexpected sensation, grabbing her injured hand. It hurt like hell to say the least, but that wasn't the sole cause for her surprise. The cool, analyzing glare Minerva fixed her with was far from the spiteful dagger-shooting gaze she'd come to associate with the girl. This… this almost felt like she was being pitied.

"... You've really lost it, haven't you?" Minerva asked rhetorically, drawing another death-glare from the younger survivor. The marauder shook her head and simply walked away. Clementine's breath caught in her throat. Minerva just… walked away? No. No, she had no right! She couldn't do all the horrible things she'd done and then just leave!

"Come back here! Minerva! Don't you dare-"

"Clem! Chill the fuck out! This isn't a dream, don't make things worse!" Aasim hissed, dread clear on his face as he appeared in the window to his cell. She snarled in preparation for another harsh remark until he interrupted. "Look at me. This is real, alright? It sucks, but this is real. Whatever you think happened, it didn't. It was just a dream. Keep your cool. If you crack, what the hell chance do we have?"

She wanted to argue with him, scream in his face for daring to imply the hell she pulled herself through for the past two and a half weeks didn't happen, but something about the words made her words die in her throat… _was_ it just a dream? The initial response was to say no, yet the possibility couldn't be completely denied. After all, now that she thought about it, how many fantastical things had happened since her capture? She got mortally wounded, only to be saved by Lily of all people? Her ragtag teenage friends managed to pull off some grand breakout? She reunited with _Christa_? Was that really more probable than all of it simply being a long, drawn out dream? At the very least, it put some other inconsistencies with this nightmare into perspective. Aasim was never in her dreams, for one. It wasn't that she didn't care for him or consider him a friend, but their friendship was mostly born out of having mutual friends than direct camaraderie. It was also unusual to see Minerva here. Despite everything she'd done, the ravenous raider never directly appeared in Clem's dreams. Minerva's actions were always put to a different face, always Clementine's own. For both of them to be there...

"... This… this can't be real," She muttered to herself in disbelief. Could it? Her 'dream' felt too real to be anything but reality, but now she couldn't stop noticing the unlikelihood of it all. No matter how much Violet and her friends wanted to save her, there's no way they could launch any sort of rescue effort and actually have it succeed. That would be borderline impossible even for someone as experienced as her. She took a deep breath, still struggling to fully process everything. The past two weeks _could_ possibly have been a dream. That much was undeniable. If this was real, then she never actually went blind. She… she had another chance! She had her eyes, she had knowledge of what and what not to do, and she could finally have that happy life she'd dared to dream about. Everything about this was a chance to fix her crippling mistake. She hesitantly opened her eyes once more to Aasim's intense, almost pleading gaze. Rejuvenated by the sudden spike of hope, Clementine channeled it all into pure determination. An idea quickly formulated as she put a hand on her hip and summoned the most assured voice she could manage. "Aasim, is Omar in there with you?"

He slowly nodded with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah…?"

"If he's asleep, wake him up. Quick. I have a plan, but we don't have much time. Don't stop, no matter what," She ordered with more confidence than she'd felt in quite some time. This could, no, _would_ work. It was a small but important revision to her original plan. First, there was no way in hell she'd just sit there and wait for Minerva to come and blind her again. Her move needed to happen right now, while Minerva's routine was resetting. Second, she was going straight for their cell the second hers was unlocked. Even if they weren't the best fighters in the world, Clementine wanted nothing more than their backup this time around. From there, they would have to ambush a guard and take their weapons. Lastly, kill as many of them as they could as quietly as they could on the way off of the boat. Lily wouldn't raid the school again if half of her soldiers were dead. If she returned at all, she returned after Ericson's had weeks to prepare. Clem looked forward getting to see everything Lily and Minerva worked so hard for go down in flames. Still, she was getting ahead of herself here. One step at a time. Aasim stepped out of sight- _"God, it feels good to actually be able to say that again…"_ -and the teenager carefully lined her foot up with the rusted metal bolts. A cold shiver overtook her. This was one of the last things she ever saw before that ability was seemingly stolen from her forever. What if history repeated itself? Clementine grit her teeth. That wasn't real, god damn it. Even if it was in some other life, she wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. She took one last breath before pulling her leg back and slamming her foot into it with as much force as she could muster. She cringed at the echoing metallic groans that screamed out in defiance. Subtly was out the window at this point. The rusted metal gave way after a couple hits and Clementine quickly bent down to rip the latch out. She exploded out of the cell the second it was unlocked, stumbling but managing to keep balance. Clem raced to the opposite cell and tore the lock out of place. "Aasim, we have to go, NOW!" Clem called out as she threw the door open and rushed inside to help.

Waiting inside for her, however, was not Aasim or Omar. Before her instead was a disdainful looking Violet and Louis leaning against the wall with an unsettling smirk. Hatred gleamed dangerously in her eyes while he got to his feet. "Hey, welcome to the party, Clem! I almost thought you weren't going to show up. Bet we're a sight for sore eyes!" Louis greeted. His voice was jovial as usual, but something uncharacteristically sinister was clear just beneath the surface. Her mind was reeling. He laughed at her, putting his hands on his hips while his smirk grew into a sneer. "Let me guess, you're thinking, 'what the hell's going on?', right? Funny story: we're in your head. I've gotta say, there's some pretty dark stuff in here. You've got a real knack for killing friends..." The phantom of her best friend taunted. Clementine's heart sank. Oh, god, no. No, not after she convinced herself it was real. How could she have been so stupid?! She desperately tried to move, but found herself frozen in place. Violet's piercing gaze only seemed to become more bitter as Louis waltzed up the the paralyzed teenager and pulled out his signature pack of cards. "So, I got an idea. Let's play Never Have I Ever! The way it works is you put three fingers up. Highest card asks the question, and if you've done it, you put a finger down. First one to run out of fingers," He paused as he slipped a blade out of seemingly thin air and pointed it at her. "Loses their eyes!"

The brunette could already tell exactly where her twisted imagination was going with this scenario, and that knowledge filled her with a terror that her body refused to express. Any screams or pitiful pleas or cutthroat threats she wanted to make all died in her throat as she remained statuesque in place against her will. Her body betrayed her, lifting up a hand as instructed and holding out another to take a card. She stared in annoyance at the two of clubs held in her fingers before she glanced at her imaginary captors. Louis held a five of diamonds while Violet displayed a queen of hearts. Her abnormally cold girlfriend spoke tersely and with clear contempt for her in her voice. "Never have I ever cheated on my girlfriend." The statement became a snarl by the final words. Clem kept her fingers up only to be met by Louis' disapproval.

"Tch tch tch… the game doesn't work if you lie, Clem," He scolded, leaning in close. He flashed her a smirk. "Or maybe you just need a reminder. 'Hi tired, I'm-" He cut himself off with a kiss. The sensation sent a shock through her, a realization that she knew this feeling. It was definitely different from the softness of Violet's lips, more chiseled and slightly chapped. A memory suddenly flashed through her head, inky blackness surrounding her while heat pooled in her cheeks and the sound of Louis' drunken giggles dying into a surprised, pleased gasp. She found herself pulled back to the nightmare as quickly as she left, the fake friend before her giving a nod. "I'd say that's very much an 'I have'."

She didn't understand. When did that happen? Why? Was it just another cruel trick of her mind to spite her further? A finger went down despite her will to the opposite. She grabbed another card, finding a jack of diamonds. To her shock, it was the highest card out of the three. The tight pressure that had kept her mouth welded shut this entire time finally seemed to relent, the girl letting out a gasp. "Why are you doing this?!"

Violet rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know. Hurry up and do your turn."

Clem racked her brain for something that wouldn't force herself to put another precious finger down. "Never have I ever… wanted to hurt you." She quietly said, sorrow clear in her voice. It wasn't a surprise when both of them put a finger down.

"That didn't keep you from doing it." Both of them bitterly spat, Clem looking away shamefully. Her hand automatically took another card, frowning at the three of hearts. Louis managed to pull a highcard this time. "Never have I ever… tried to get myself killed."

Clementine closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she bent another finger down. It was a part of her life she'd done her damndest to forget, and nearly had after everything that had happened to her recently, but it only made sense that her old mistakes would come back to haunt her again. All those dark, hollow days when she was so certain AJ had perished because of her that were spent hating herself and robbing passersby for anything they had. She had no real will to live, only too much spite for the world and regret for Lee's sacrifice to put her gun in her mouth. In truth, though, she wondered with every mugged survivor if they'd be the one to put a bullet in her, and the thought wasn't always one that filled her with worry. If she hadn't been fortunate enough to have Javier stumble across her, she'd probably have bled out on some godforsaken road years ago. The troubled teenager snatched another card from the stack without bothering to see if anyone else had put their fingers down at the question. Ten of hearts. A quick glance around revealed she once again managed the highcard. Violet was also down to one finger, bringing Clementine to a pause as she realized exactly what her twisted imagination was planning. She'd either lose her eyes again, or watch it happen to Violet because of her. She despised her mind for putting her in a situation like this, but she choked out a statement all the same. "Never have I ever… hated AJ."

The fake Louis chuckled, but his fingers didn't go down. "Nice try to trip me up, Clem, but you should know me better than that!" He called out. She took another card. The king of spades stared back, sending a glimmer of hope through the girl. That was just about the luckiest draw she could manage. Violet only had a four of clubs. She might still be able to weasel her way out of this. Her eyes locked with Louis' as he dramatically drew his own card, studying it careful before turning it. She died inside as Louis flipped over an ace of spades. Of course her fucked up brain would give herself hope just to steal it away at the last possible moment. He grinned at her viciously as a dark laugh escaped him. "And that's why you always keep an ace in the hole! Don't worry though, this is an easy one. Never have I ever… committed murder."

Her last finger fell just as her stomach already had, a crushing feeling of dread consuming every fiber of her being as his eyes darkened. "Sorry Clem, but don't be too upset. You've done this before, right?" The nightmarish vision of her best friend taunted as he sauntered up to her, knife in hand. Clementine screamed at herself to grab the knife or run away or do anything at all but her petrified body would not budge. He hummed as he carefully lined the knife up and he flashed her one last menacing grin. "First one to blink loses. Ready?"

She could feel the cold steel hovering over her cornea, teasing it like a feather. It pulled back for just a second, but it was no reprieve for Clementine as she watched the blade swing across her vision until it finally sliced through her eye just as it had that hellish night. The agony that followed was exactly as she remembered it, too. Blinding crimson fell to inky black before her vision disappeared entirely in that eye. She could feel her vocal cords bellowing out a scream, but it sounded so faint to her ears as molten blood shot out over her cheek and quickly trailed downwards, feeling like rivers of fire on her skin. She couldn't even close her eye in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, unable to do anything but feel herself gushing out blood. She could hear the imaginary Louis cackling at her suffering, cracking some heartless joke at her expense, but the words all blended together. He nonchalantly handed Violet the dark red blade before she began marching towards the half-blind brunette. Clementine just wanted this to be over already. Let her slam that knife in her head if that was it took to end this misery. Violet's cold, spiteful glare worsened by the time she was in arm's length of Clementine. The phantom scoffed out in annoyance. "Don't give me that look. We both know you had this coming." She said, and without another word, thrust the knife squarely in Clementine's pupil. To her mild surprise, it was something of a relief. It was still an agonizing feeling she wouldn't wish on her worst enemies, but the taste of cold copper in her mouth and the sudden surge of ice in her veins made it clear that her end was here. She wouldn't be feeling it much longer, at least. Clementine collapsed but didn't feel herself hit the ground. Instead was the sensation of falling and falling, an endless spiral downwards in the unforgiving darkness that surrounded her at all times.

Falling, falling, falling…

***

The thumping of a worn rubber ball bouncing off the wall was the only sound in the office. The night was otherwise dead silent, not even the soft distant groans of walkers or chirping hoards of crickets outside the school especially noticeable tonight. That suited Violet just fine. She'd had enough of noise, especially people noise. That was why she was up here brooding in the first place. The ball she was forcefully tossing against a wall and catching before repeating the process was a more acceptable outlet for her anger than beating the shit out of someone. That was nearly what she'd done to Louis when he first gave her the thing all the way back at the start. The very thought of him made her chuck the ball harder. That fucking asshole… god, she couldn't stand it. It'd been an hour since he confessed what he did, and she'd been up here ever since. Ruby tried to have a chat with her about it, which ended up as just a shouting match that left her even more pissed off. Admittedly, most of the shouting was on her part, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, unless someone was dying or something was on fire, they could go fuck themselves right now.

She couldn't believe what a shitshow the last two days had become. The stupid fucking vote, Louis' _'help'_ with Clementine's messed up headspace, the girl's subsequent breakdown in the greenhouse, these New Richmond people… Christ, how she wanted to go back to yesterday morning. Hell, to go back to the morning before the Delta came and ruined their lives. To see Clementine happy and whole, mentally and physically. She frowned at the idea. There was no point thinking about what ifs and things that theoretically could have been done better. The thoughts would only distract her from the real problems right now. She thought she could put at least a little faith in these new people because of Clem's trust in them, but… her oldest friend had just betrayed her. How could she believe in strangers when even her friends' loyalties were questionable?

The ball bounced off at an odd angle and soared passed her hand, the following sound of breaking glass making her grimace. Ah, hell. She took her feet off the desk and walked over to investigate the noise, finding a knocked over picture frame. The blonde carefully turned it over and let out a mix of a hiss and a groan as she realized what it was. "Shit… god damn it," The leader complained as she looked down at the splintered glass frame of Louis and Marlon. Fuck. This picture was one of the last things the pianist had of his best friend. As much as she might fucking hate him right now, she knew herself and him well enough to know she'd get over it eventually. This, though? She might as well have just pissed on Marlon's grave in front of him for how he'd react. It made a self deprecating part of herself laugh darkly. What comes around goes around, right? Why the hell not, might as well get one last thing in today to fuck her over. Regardless, the glass was fucked, but the picture itself seemed thankfully unharmed. She carefully set it back onto the table. The blonde lazily kicked the bits of broken glass under the table with a yawn. She could clean up in the morning. Getting some sleep might be what she needed to cool off, as fuming in here clearly did nothing. All this bullshit could wait until tomor-

**KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK**

Violet groaned. Fucking fantastic. More problems that they wanted to dump on her. She growled as she marched towards the door and undid the lock. "Ruby, I swear to-"

She was interrupted as the door slammed into her face, knocking her off balance with a pained grunt. Before she could even realize what had just happened, she found herself roughly pinned against the wall with a hand over her mouth and a knife pressed against her stomach. Icy blue eyes bore into hers with a disapproving glare. "Make a sound and I'll gut you," Minerva threatened warningly, pressing the knife tighter against her skin for emphasis. Violet was reeling. How the fuck did she get out?! Where'd she get a weapon? Did she kill one of her friends to get both? Her surprise quickly morphed to a mix of fear and anger, scowling at her former love as the raider kicked the door closed. "We're going to have a talk, like old times. Try to run or call for help, and I'll personally put a bullet in everyone in this goddamn school starting with you. Understand?" The marauder informed, slowly retracting her hand from the leader's mouth. Her eyes darkened when Violet refused to answer her question with anything but a glare and biting sarcasm.

"Do _you_ understand how fucking dangerous and stupid this is?!" She hissed back. When the initial shock and outrage off, she noticed just how bruised the young woman's face was. "Minnie, what the hell-"

Minerva moved the knife to her throat while her spare hand patted her for weapons. Violet shut up but her glare deepened when she soon found her own pistol pointed between her eyes, Minerva pocketing her own knife and stealing Vi's signature meat cleaver from her belt. "Christ, you weren't this arrogant before I left. Do you have a death wish?" The redhead berated in a hush tone. She motioned the pistol towards the desk, her hostage taking the hint and slowly made her way to it. "Sit down. Hands where I can see them." Minerva ordered, locking the door. She kept the gun trained on her as she made her way behind the weathered mahogany and sat down in Marlon's long since abandoned throne. Her dark eyes seemed to soften for a moment to Violet's intrigue before quickly going dead again. "You fucked up. Again."

Violet rolled her eyes with an angry scoff. "Because you never do?"

"Difference being I learn from my mistakes. You keep making the same ones over and over and over again. How many times have you trusted me even though everyone knows you shouldn’t, and how many times has it come back to bite you? I keep betraying you, but you keep expecting me not to. That’s going to get you killed.”

The blonde’s harsh gaze softened a little. “I trusted you in the cell. I’d be dead if you hadn’t shot Lily. I know the real you is still in there, Minnie.”

“And you wouldn’t have been captured in the first place if you didn’t trust me. Even if we ignore that, you keep trusting people you shouldn’t. Do you even know who those people you let in are? They make the Delta look like saints.”

“That’s not how they told it.”

Minerva slammed her fist on the desk. “That’s the fucking problem! You believed complete strangers that shot at you _on their word_! You put everyone here in danger! Put Tenn in danger!” She growled out with furious disbelief. The redhead lowered her volume, but her tone was sharper than a knife. "You didn't used to be this blind to how people really are."

"No, Minnie. I was just so caught up in my own shit that I couldn't see the good in people. When I thought you died, I didn't think there was anything good left… Clem changed that. She showed me that trusting people isn't always a bad idea."

Minnie's snarl fell to a bitter frown. "How many people are dead because of her?! Mitch, Marlon, Brody, they all died because of Clementine. If she didn't try to stop Lily, none of this ever would have happened! Clementine is dangerous, Violet."

Violet rolled her eyes. "And the person pointing a gun at me isn't?"

"She's more dangerous than I am. That hope she gave you? It was a lie. You could have all ended up dead because she fought back when they came to collect. Your little rescue mission was a disaster. It's a miracle no one died. What do you think would've happened if I didn't shoot Lily?" Minerva questioned. Violet opened her mouth to retort only to be cut off. "I think she would have strangled you to death. Then, she would lock Clementine and AJ in with your corpse and let you tear them to shreds. _That_ is the kind of person you and 'Clem' were fucking around with. Her half baked plans keep putting all of you on the line. She convinced you that you could win, but you couldn't.  Clementine is insane and she's only getting worse-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Violet roared out as she shot out of her seat. Minerva backed away in an instant, the chair toppling over behind her as she refocused the gun on the furious girl. "You don't get to fucking say that! Not when you did this to her!"

"Then why do you keep trusting me? If I'm the reason she's a violent lunatic, why didn't you let me die on that boat? You know I'm right. That's who she is at heart, Violet! I just made her realize that, and it's time you did too!"

Violet was trembling with outrage. "BULLSHIT! You don't know her! She wasn't like this until you cut her goddamn eyes out! I kept trying to save you because I know you weren't always like this either, Minnie!" The heartbroken leader screamed out, going from despising the shell of her old flame to pleading with her. "Please, Minnie. Just let me help you. You and Tenn-" She was interrupted by the barrel of the gun pressing under her chin.

"How long until Clementine loses it again and kills one of you?"

"She wou-"

"She's done it before. Would the Clementine you knew gun someone down in front of a child? People can change, but they can't change back. Just because you loved someone before they changed doesn't mean they're the same, Violet. That's what you have to learn." Minerva lectured her with a frown. The gun moved from her chin but remained trained on her as Minerva slowly circled behind the blonde. She grimaced as her own pistol pressed against her temple before her captor's spare hand harshly gripped her arms in a viselike hold. "Walk. When we get to the door, I'll let one arm go and you're going to unlock it. Try anything, and I'll finish what Clementine started and put a bullet in everyone here."

Violet wanted to scream, curse her out, kick her ass, do anything other than comply with the raider's demands, but there was fuck all she could do without getting herself or someone else killed. Even if Minerva wasn't willing to kill her, she couldn't imagine the ex-student would be as merciful to the others when they showed up, especially not Clementine. Her best bet was playing along until the gun was off of her. She slowly approached the thick wood and got within a foot of it before Minerva let Violet's left hand go, pressing the pistol closer to her head with a silent promise. Violet cast a stabbing glare behind her. "I fucking got it, Minnie..." She hissed out as she turned her focus back to the door. She took a deep breath, placing her hand over the lock and flipping the latch over. Her fingers shifted to the doorknob, and the aged would creeped open a second later. Her blood ran cold, however, when she saw the person standing in the door frame. No, no, she shouldn't be here, not now. Any time but now.

"C-Clementine?"

***

Someone was screaming. She knew the sound well, a shrill, terrified noise that she'd heard and sometimes even caused loved ones and enemies alike to make. It was almost always the last sound a person ever made in her experience. This particular scream had to be the one she hated the most, because it was her own. She _hated_ the sound of her own fear. It was an involuntary admission of her own weakness that begged for the blackhearted predators of the world to come and make their move. Try as she might to quiet down, however, the pure fear flooding her mind refused to listen to reason. Her whole body was trembling as hot tears rolled down her face. Her eyes were on fire, the burning pain reducing any sort of coherent thoughts to ash amongst the agony. There shouldn't even be an eye to hurt, but the phantom pains came to haunt her all the same. The bloodcurdling howls just kept roaring from the panicking girl. They were loud enough to wake the dead, both literally and figuratively. Any sort of caution paled in comparison to the unspeakable anguish she felt at that moment.

Hands descended on her shoulders and began to violently shake her. This only added to her fear without a face to place the action to. "No! Get away from me!" Clementine howled out the mix of a threat and a plea. She gripped the foreign appendages with a growl and was about to break their wrists when it occurred to her how tiny her supposed attacker's arms were. The realization paused her for only a moment, but that moment was enough for her to hear a familiar voice.

"It's okay, Clem, it's me! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

Her breath caught in her throat. "A-AJ?" The young woman hoarsely called out, releasing his wrists in an instant. Her hands quickly searched over him, revealing that it was in fact the kid she had raised from birth. Her breathing hitched once more as she pulled him into the tightest embrace her shuddering form could manage. "Oh my god, AJ, I-you, I thought- oh, god i-it hurts! Make it stop! I-I-I- " She was interrupted by another wave of choking gasps. Clem felt like she was drowning, clinging to AJ like a lifeline in an ocean of endless black. Her attempts to control her breathing failed her for the first time in years, leaving her sputtering for air in between body shaking sobs. AJ broke out of her hold, taking her tear covered face in his hands.

"With me, Clem, okay? Like you taught me. In," He paused, an exaggerated breath inward sounding. An exhale followed soon after. "Out. You got this, okay? Easy." AJ encouraged as he repeated the actions. She feebly tried to imitate the actions while she hugged him again, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest and trying her best to sync it up with herself. Anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours could have passed by the time Clementine finally managed to get her ragged gasps of air into something close to normal, though the tears of pain and terror still dripped over her features. "Nightmare?" Her son questioned innocently. She could only nod in response, feeling like she might vomit if she dared to open her mouth. Her lifelong protege returned her hug full force, nearly knocking her on her back as he gave it his all. "It's okay, Clem. I'll protect you, I promise. Nobody's gonna hurt you again. I won't let them."

Clementine couldn't hold back a sob as she covered her mouth in a vain attempt to silence herself. She was so sure it was real, had so much hope that maybe this had all just been a horrible nightmare and she was finally waking up. She felt sick as she quietly wept in her child's arm. "I… I was back on the boat, AJ. I-" She sucked in a breath, despising how weak she was being right now. She should be the one comforting him. What kind of guardian broke down in tears in front of their charge? Lee would never be this pathetic. The blind brunette couldn't be more disappointed in herself, but she couldn't bring herself to stop, either. She had to tell someone right now. "I really thought I had my eyes back. I thought I could do things differently, but- oh, god, it hurts _so, so much_ AJ. I-it's like it's happening all over again-"

Her boy shushed her gently, exactly as she always did for him when the poor boy would wake up weeping and sniveling. She could feel his small hand pet her curls soothingly, to her surprise. Did he get that from Violet? Her boy always did have a knack for imitating the people he cared about, even if he only had new people around to imitate for a few short weeks. "What do we do when we're scared, Clem?" He asked. Clementine was taken aback by the determination carried in his voice. It hadn't been that long ago she was the one asking him that exact question. There was no condescension to be found despite it literally being a question made for a child, his tone that of contagious bravery.

"Are you going to get mad if I swear?" She managed to joke with a shaky smile despite the despaired panic still coursing in her veins and the ungodly agony in her skull.

"It's okay this time." He confirmed with a ghost of amusement. She could feel the heartache beginning to subside as the comfort of her beloved child took hold.

"We tell it to fuck off," The girl quoted herself, taking a number of further deep breaths to steady her her heart. She mentally repeated the mantra and continued the breathing exercises for a couple minutes before Clem rested her head on his shoulder and the debilitating burning slowly began to fade to just an agitated stinging. "Thanks, goofball. I… I'm better now. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She could feel him shake his head firmly. "Nope. I'm sorry I scared you so bad. I just wanted to help, but… it seems like bad things get worse whenever I try." He lamented. Her heart sank at his pained admission. No. She couldn't let him fall down the same rabbit holes she'd spent years trapped in.

"No, AJ, that's not it. You always have to try to make things better. They might get worse if you help, but they definitely will if you don't. This wasn't your fault. None of today was. Understand?"

He paused before answering, Clementine patiently waiting. "... How do you know when helping'll make things better?"

Her voice carried old regrets on it with her reply. "You don't. All you can do is hope for the best."

"... The right thing seems really hard. Confusing, too."

She gave a solemn nod. "It is, kiddo. That's why it's important when someone tries to be good. Especially these days."

Silence reigned over the pair for a time. It was a comfortable quiet, a brief reprieve from her emotional turmoil the blind brunette had been enduring for years. AJ comforted the closest thing he ever had to a mother while she did the same for the boy that was her son in all but blood. Eventually, though, a yawn broke her from her almost trance like state. She frowned apologetically at the boy. "Sorry I woke you up, AJ. You should go back to bed. I think you can get a couple more hours before you go out on patrol, don't you?"

"I don't want to. I can't protect you if I'm sleeping."

Her frown transformed to a small, fond smile. "It's alright, AJ. We're safe here, you said it yourself. I'll be okay. Pinky promise." She vowed, holding out her smallest finger. Louis must really be rubbing off on them after all. He didn't wrap his own around it, however.

"... Are you going back to sleep, too?" He questioned. Clem looked away a little.

"Soon," She replied with a little apprehension. "I want to see if Violet's still up. If she is, I need to talk to her about some stuff."

"Ugh, is it that gross lovey stuff you guys do sometimes?" He complained with clear disgust. The girl could practically see his little face scrunched up in slightly sick annoyance. Clem laughed, the joy a welcomed relief after the poor circumstances that led to this talk. She smirked at him devilishly.

"Oh, the _grossest_ lovey stuff." Violet's girlfriend teased.

"Like inbreeding?"

Aaaaand just like that the amusement was gone, replaced by grossed out shock. "Inbre- AJ, who taught you that word?!"

"Tenn told me about it. He said it was when people did gross lovey stuff with their-"

"I know what it means, AJ," She quickly clarified. Now _she_ was the one cringing at the other's words. "Uh, no. Not nearly that gross. And tell Tenn that he really shouldn't talk to people about that sort of thing."

His small shoulders shrugged in her hug. "Louis was the one who brought it up, but he wouldn't tell me what it meant."

"Louis is a dumbass. Tell him not to talk about that, too." She instructed with a groan, hiding her embarrassed blush behind a facepalm. Christ, how did they go from her having a PTSD attack to lecturing about inbreeding? Thank god for her little goofball, always there to give her a smile. Shaking her head, Clem loosened her bearhug, now just gently holding his shoulders. "I love you, AJ. See… talk to you in the morning. Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the walkers bite. And if they try?" She repeated their old rhyme with a minor grin.

"Bang." He finished, the girl giving an approving nod. He let out another yawn as they got to their feet and she carefully walked him to his bed, more afraid of tripping on a floorboard like a fucking idiot than anything that might've been waiting in the darkness. "... I love you too, Clem. Goodnight." He quietly mumbled climbing into bed. Flashing one last smile, she cautiously began making her way to the office. Violet would probably say the same things as AJ, but right now, she just needed a reminder of what the blonde was really like, the sweet if heavily sarcastic, semi-shy no-bullshit girl she fell for rather than her nightmare's twisted projection of her. Besides, Louis needed to rest, so her talk with him could wait at least until the morning.

A quick visit couldn't hurt, right?

***

 

Violet could hear her heart thumping in her chest. The person Minerva had the biggest grudge against was now mere feet away from her while the raider was armed, and Clementine didn't even know it. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what to do. She could tell her to run, but they'd probably both be dead before the blind brunette even realized what she should be running from. There was no fighting back with that gun pointed at her head. God damn this feeling of powerlessness! Even as she racked her mind to come up with a way out of this alive, a relieved half smile came to Clementine's lips. "Hey, Vi. Figured you'd be here," Her girlfriend greeted. Clem was looking right at her, but she knew that the girl had no way of noticing the dire situation mere feet away from her. Minerva kept dead quiet, seemingly not even breathing in the wake of her nemesis' arrival. Her lips thinned a little as she continued. "I… couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well see if you were still up. Can't exactly stargaze, but do you want to hang out or something?" She attempted to joke, though Violet noticed the way her face fell for a second when she said it. Tiredness was clear in her voice, but there was also a sort of slightly nervous contentment to it, the sort Violet hadn't heard since the blind brunette's confession of love on the belltower. It would've been a heartwarming scene if she weren't currently a hostage.

Her throat felt bone dry as she tried to get a response out that didn't betray her growing terror. "S-sure. I've gotta check something with Ruby real quick, but... I'll meet you in my room in ten." Violet lied through her teeth. She tried to sound welcoming, but there was no hiding the undercurrent of fear and anger for Minerva.

Clementine frowned. "Are you alright? You sound-" She stopped abruptly when she reached for Violet's hand only to hit Minerva's pant leg. The confusion on her face vanished into suspicion. A snap rang out and her expression settled onto surprise by the time Minerva spoke up.

"Step back or she dies," The raider threatened. Clementine's face turned to stone. She begrudgingly took a few steps back. Violet let out a shaky breath. Fuck. So much for keeping Clem out of it. "Do you know why this is happening?" Minerva questioned, though who it was directed towards was vague. It ultimately didn't matter as the marauder continued. "You have to learn why trusting people only make things worse. There's only one way to do that."

Time slowed to a crawl as the pistol moved from her temple and shifted to Clementine. Minerva's finger seemed like it would take an eternity to pull the trigger, but that provided no comfort to the blonde. Her heart shattered at the realization of what Minerva was planning. No. How could she do something _this_ cruel? She'd murder Violet's girlfriend in front of her just to teach the leader some fucked up lesson?! Rage exploded inside Violet at that moment as she did the only thing she could think of and kicked Minerva's knee as hard as she could before flinging herself to her right and biting into Minerva's wrist. A startled cry of pain escaped the raider as Violet ripped her hands free of her captor's now weakened grasp and grabbed the gun. Minerva kicked her in the stomach and winded her only to be tackled by Clementine immediately after. The pistol clattered to the ground and skidded across the aged wooden floors. She struggled to regain her breath while the two began to fight in the office. Violet cringed as Clem took a harsh hit to the throat that allowed Minerva to toss her off and immediately pounce the girl, wrapping her hands around the brunette's neck while the girl desperately clawed at the hands strangling the life out of her. Violet charged Minerva against the wall, the redhead letting out a pained grunt at the forceful shove. She followed it up with a punch across her ex's face, but found herself shouting in agony as something in her leg gave an unsettling crunch. The redhead had seemingly managed to break Violet's leg with a hellish kick to the side of the kneecap, her leg exploding into pain and bent at a sickening angle that made her stand unevenly. Minerva took advantage of the opportunity and shoved her to the floor before kicking the leg yet again. Her vision flashed white and a horrible static noise surrounded her as she let out a scream, gripping her leg instinctively only for it to hurt worse.

By the time her vision was beginning to clear and the ringing in her ears stopped muting the world, the sight that awaited her was a horrifying one.

***

The familiar cold sweat of battle was like rain on scorching concrete against Clementine's skin. Her heartbeat provided a chaotic soundtrack to the visualless fight, fear firmly locked away in the back of her mind. Her breaths were heavy and labored, the spot where Minerva struck her aching with every inhale. She subconsciously worked to steady her breathing through the pain. She was no stranger to fights, not by a long shot, but fighting blind? She'd had all of one fight without her vision, and she nearly died despite having the element of surprise. It hadn't occurred to her in her despair-filled two weeks of disability to actually learn how to fight again. It was stupid of her to think she wouldn't need it again in a world like this, even in the relative safety of the school. Still, there was no time to regret past arrogance. This was a fight to the death, not just for her and Minerva, but for Violet as well. Violet's screams of anguish were the only evidence she had the blonde was still among the living as much as it twisted her heart to hear them. Taking that small comfort, the troubled teenager drew her knife.

She could hear rapidly approaching footsteps charging at her from Violet's direction. When they were almost upon her, she slashed the blade diagonally and felt blood spirt onto her hand around the hilt of the knife. Her enemy barreled into her and knocked her off balance for a moment before she managed to find her footing again. She swiped the blade again from the opposite direction and heard cutting denim before she went for a downward stab. However, a hand latched onto hers just before a fist slammed into her nose. The knife got ripped out of her grip, but a ferocious cry of rage tipped her off fast enough to dodge out of the way. She kicked at where Minerva ought to have been and managed to get something. A thud sounded against the wall with an incomprehensible curse. Clem didn't give her any chance to recover, however, as she threw herself against the raider and grabbed for her knife. An elbow slammed against her covered eyes and drew a grunt but didn't prevent her from struggling for control of the blade. She kept twisting the older girl's wrist until it dropped out of her hand with a cry, attempting to grab it for herself only to get knocked back and have it go flying. It clattered somewhere on the far side of the room behind her. God damn it… at the very least, it wouldn't be used against her, either.

Clem quickly shot back to full height and angled herself to be harder to knock down. She wasn't dead yet. That much meant this was already going better than her first fight with Minerva. Even though she was managing far better than she expected, however, the aches that consumed her body and tired muscles screaming in protest were already beginning to drag her down. The thoughts were quickly forgotten when words other than Violet's hissed out swears broke the relative quiet. "Just give up, for fucks sake!" Minerva growled out, pain, exhaustion, and irritation mixing into a menacing tone sharp as a knife.

"You already know I can't." Clementine spat back.

"If you didn't fight back, none of this ever would've happened! You'd have a home! People that care!"

"I already do, and I won't let you take it from me!"

Clementine snarled at the scoff Minerva made in response. "No, you don't. You have a house of cards, Clementine. They don't love you, never have. They pity you. If _anyone_ else acted half as unstable as you are, they would've left you for dead in a day."

"Shut up!" Clementine shouted. That dreadful anger was clawing at her mind, but she was too distracted to even think about trying to stop it. Unsurprisingly, Minerva didn't.

"You're a ticking fucking timebomb, Clementine. One of these days, you're gonna explode, and you're going to take all of them with you. Violet, Louis, AJ, you'll kill all of them. Do you know that? Do you even care?!"

She started running at some point. She didn't know when, and at this point, she didn't care. All she wanted was for Minerva to shut up by any means necessary.

***

Violet could only watch as Clementine charged at Minerva with an inhuman scream right into a harsh kick to the stomach that sent her toppling to a knee. Minerva's boot collided with her nose and sent a burst of blood across the worn leather a second later, Clem's iconic cap getting launched into the air while the girl herself was knocked to the floor. Her blindfold had come askew from the hit and revealed her missing eye, managing to seem like a menacing glare. She shot back up again with a sloppy swing that Minerva easily dodged. Violet's jaw dropped in horror as Minerva shoved her thumb into Clementine's left eye and tore at the empty socket. Her screams were hellish, the face of Violet's girlfriend twisting into a look of pure agony. Clementine desperately whaled on Minnie's arm, the raider staring down at her with pure loathing in her eyes. Violet felt sick. She had to do _something_ , anything! "Stop! Minerva!"

"She can't make it out of here alive!" The redhead shouted back without even looking at her. Clementine kept grabbing at anything she could get her hands on until she managed to find Minerva's pocket. A moment later, Minerva was the one screaming as her own knife plunged into her left hip. She ripped her hand out of Clem's socket to grip the wound, the look on her face making it clear she realized her mistake instantly. Clementine ripped the blade out and shoved it back in, using it for stability as she shoved herself up and launched a hand into Minerva's throat. The brutal punch was quickly followed up by a knee to the chin that sent her sprawling to the floor. Minerva flipped herself over and desperately pulled herself away from the other girl. She managed to crawl almost to the desk before another kick left her staring up at the girl she'd broken so thoroughly. Clementine was on her in less than a second, striking the girl again and again with no holds barred. Minerva weakly tried to resist, but the feeble attempts faltered under her relentless barrage. Even from here, Violet could see the marks now littering her attacker's face. Punch after punch slammed down on Minerva's head and made it bounce against the hard floor. Once the initial shock wore off, she realized the sightless survivor didn't have any intention of stopping.

"Clem! Clementine, stop!" Violet begged. The blind brunette ignored her completely as she continued pummeling Minerva. Her ex-girlfriend's face was a mess of black, blue, and blood as Clementine's savage assault continued. Bloodcurdling cries and animalistic growls filled the room. Violet's leg was burning, the pain of her newly broken leg keeping the blonde from getting to her feet. She let out a yelp of agony when she tried to stand on it anyway and promptly fell back to the floor in a heap. Heartbreak filled her at the sight of the most important person in her world beating another one. A part of her knew she should hate Minerva at this point, probably long before now honestly, but something about the sight of the redhead bruised and bloody compelled Violet to act. If she didn't do something, Clementine would almost certainly kill her at this rate. But, with her leg fucked up as it was, she had no way of stopping Clementine short of shooting her own girlfriend. Needless to say, that wasn't going to happen. "Clementine, please! Listen to me!" She pleaded as she dragged herself towards the pair. Clementine's knuckles were soaked in red at this point, though it'd be impossible to tell how much of it was her blood and how much was Minnie's. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized Minerva's left hand was weakly moving towards her hip. It only worsened when the raider shakily raised it up and it became clear it was the knife, the blood staining it glinting in the dim moonlight. She angled it towards Clem's skull and drew back in preparation for the strike. Violet's breath died in her throat. There was no time to warn Clementine even if the blind girl could have heard her through her own bloodlust. Pure adrenalin flowed like a river through her veins quickly erased the pain in her leg as she bolted for Clem. Three steps. Two steps. One.

The leader of the school leapt towards Clementine and tossed her out of the way before she even fully understood what she was doing. Violet didn't get the chance, however, as cold serrated steel ripped through her neck like tissue paper. A startled gasp was the only response she could make as her eyes slammed shut in pain. Oh fuck, oh shit, this hurt so _so_ much more than she could ever have imagined. It was so fucking cold, but the bit of blood spilling out onto her chest and hands felt like burning oil at the same time. She… she was dying. The realization was a sobering one. She'd wondered how it would feel on the worst days of her life when she thought this was what she wanted, but as she felt her breaths grow weaker and weaker and her heart beat out of her chest, the only things came to her mind. The first was fear, of course. She was going to fucking die. Cease to be. All she was would just… stop. She'd never get to groan at one of Louis' shitty jokes again, or pretend not to love every last soul in this school with all of her being. She'd never get to forgive him for what he'd done or be forgiven in turn. She'd never get to save Minerva from herself. Worse than all of that, though, was the realization that she'd be leaving Clementine behind when the girl needed her most. That hurt more than the wound itself. She'd be leaving Clementine, just like she was scared of the girl doing to her. Her sweet, brave, badass Clementine. The one person that made her feel truly alive again after all this time mourning the same girl currently shoving a knife in her neck. She hoped her death wouldn't hurt Clem as much as she thought it would. The girl deserved at least a little bit of happiness after all the shit she'd put her through.

The second thing that occurred to her was a sense of peace. She wasn't happy to he dying, far from it, but… she'd finally found someone _worth_ dying for. Violet was dying, but Clem? She'd live. The others would probably be here soon. They could protect her once the blonde was gone. Her and AJ… Christ, who would've thought she'd become such a sap? She'd laugh if there wasn't a knife buried in her neck. So much for her stone cold loner persona. As much as she tried not to care, those two were just too damn incredible for her not to love them. They would live, and she could die with that. Her vision was starting to go black as she found herself unable to keep breathing, glancing at Minerva's horrified face. Shit. They… they'd kill her for this. She prayed she was wrong. Tenn didn't deserve to have the last of his family ripped away from him yet again. She closed her eyes again. Was he right about all that afterlife shit he talked about? Everyone getting to be a person again, being happy? She was never a very good Catholic despite her grandparents' best efforts, so she'd never really given much thought to it even before the end of the world. That shit suddenly seemed really important, but there wasn't much time to dwell.

Besides, she'd find out soon enough.

***

Clementine blinked. Her body ached, but she didn't know why. She'd been fine just a little bit before. Why did… the memory of her vicious fight with Minerva came back in an instant, pushing Clem's guard up. She was getting the shit knocked out of her… and then she woke up. The hairs on the back of her neck shot up as she realized everything in between was just not there. She could hear a quiet whimpering somewhere out in the darkness that made her heart drop. "V-Violet? Where… where are you?" She called out. Nothing responded but the quiet crying. "Violet? Did…" Clementine's breath hitched as a bit of fear seeped into her tone. "Did I hurt you? I… I can't remember anything. I'm okay now, I-I won't do it again!" The blind brunette practically begged. The weeping continued to be the only sound in the room. Clem realized her knuckles felt wet, the coppery stench of blood assailing her nostrils. Oh, god. No, please, no… she couldn't have. "Violet, please, say _something_!" She begged, voice breaking. She waited, and waited, and waited…

"... Violet?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can send your tearful threats of violence to u/Mr_C1nical on Reddit. I'm eager to see the despair.
> 
> BTW, Violet got stabbed through the thyrohyoid muscle, for my anatomy nerds out there.


	18. Safe and Sound Stats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The customary stat page for the past few episodes.

You and 53.8% of players left Clementine feeling HORRIFIED

  * She was comforted when you told her you trusted her at the river
  * … But she felt betrayed when you voted to let Minerva stay at the school
  * She was surprised when you called her beautiful
  * She felt loved after your talk in the greenhouse
  * She was thrilled to reunite with Christa
  * She blames herself for what happened to Violet



You and 47.6% of players left Louis CONFLICTED

  * He felt useless after discovering Clementine broken on the boat
  * He was thankful when you agreed to let him try leading the school with you
  * He tried to save James
  * He was demoralized when you denounced him for kissing Clementine
  * Ruby inspired him to seek atonement



You and 53.8% of players left Violet AT PEACE

  * She felt like she failed Clementine by letting her get captured
  * She was frustrated when you fought with Minerva in the woods
  * She agreed to let you lead the school with her
  * She felt hopeful when she confessed her love for Clementine in the greenhouse
  * She was furious when she learned you kissed Clementine
  * She sacrificed herself to save you



You and 60% of players left AJ feeling UNCERTAIN

  * He lashed out at you at the shack, but didn’t fully understand why
  * He was thrilled when Louis began teaching him piano
  * He defied you to save his friends when Christa was at the gate
  * He doubted if he usually did the right thing after your talk in the hallway
  * He was distrustful of strangers after Clementine’s kidnapping
  * He felt important when he comforted you after the nightmare of the boat



You and 42% of players left Minerva feeling IRREDEEMABLE

  * She was furious when you judged her for killing Sophie
  * She was hopeful she could see Tenn again
  * She was disgusted by your faith in her despite what she’s done
  * ‘Sophie’ convinced her she might have a second chance at the school
  * … But her resentment towards Clementine led her to try to kill her
  * She was horrified when she stabbed Violet instead of you



You and 57.4% of players left Ruby feeling like a FRIEND

  * She became close with you following her torture at Minerva’s hands
  * She saw through your attempts to lie to her
  * She felt accomplished when she introduced you to gardening
  * She reviled you for killing Sophie and blinding Clementine
  * She gave you advice on how to make up for your mistakes with Violet and Clementine



You and 54% of players left Christa feeling ATONED

  * She lied to you about giving up your weapons
  * She was shocked and thrilled to discover you were alive
  * She was remorseful when she learned of your blindness



 


	19. Nearing Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actions have consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to go into overdrive to get this one out today after missing nearly three days of my usual writing time. Sorry if it's not quite up to snuff compared to the usual updates.

_"You want to hear somethin' funny? I've been thinking, and I don't want to die._

_Never thought I'd be the kinda idiot to say somethin' like that, but there it is._

_I'm scared, Clementine. Jesus, I'm scared."_

Ruby let out a tired sigh as she washed away cold and clotted blood from her hands for what must have been the hundredth time this month. It was part of the job - a job that, in all honesty, she was proud to have. The fact that she had saved so many of her friends' lives was an excellent way of balancing out her complete lack of fighting or otherwise non-medial or gardening skills. At the same time, however, she took no joy in seeing the closest thing she had left of a family come back from trips beaten, bruised, and bloody if they came back at all. There were days when she longed to go out on a supply run or hunting trip just so she could be out there with them, but she knew just as well as everyone else that her medical knowledge was too valuable to risk losing. She'd tried her best to teach her fellow students, but out of all of them, the only ones that seemed to be both interested and capable were Aasim and Omar. Fat load a'good it did them when the Delta came knockin'. She knew logically that there wasn't anything she could've done that the doctors those bastards had couldn't have done themselves, but damn it all if she didn't sometimes wonder if she could have saved at least one of Clem's eyes if she'd been there.

The redhead frowned. No point in thinking about things she couldn't change. She pulled her hands out of the crimson-tinted water and shook them dry, dabbing them against her vest for good measure. "Isn't it impolite to wipe your hands off on your clothes?" Louis joked from the bed. He was still far more reserved than he normally was, but the pianist at least had a ghost of his usual chipperness in his tone. She scoffed lightly.

"Ain't it impolite t'bleed on people?"

"Touche," He conceded with a faint smirk. His face fell after a few moments. "... So… what exactly did Violet say? I mean, I know it wasn't good, but…" Louis trailed off with a shake of his head. Her expression lopsided at the question.

_"Fuck. Off." Violet's voice spat, the spiteful edge to it hardly dulled by the door's muffling. They'd been going back and forth for at least ten minutes by now, and had made zero progress in that time._

_Ruby pinched her nose in annoyance. "Vi, it's important. We need t'talk."_

_"Is anyone dead?"_

_"Wha- no!"_

_"Anything on fire?"_

_"What are you-"_

_"THEN JUST. FUCK. OFF." The blonde raised her voice, giving the door a firm kick for emphasis. Ruby's frustration quickly gave way to her being completely pissed off._

_"Stop bein' a stubborn ass!" She shouted back. "In case you forgot, yer in charge, Vi. Y'can't just run off! Ah don't care how pissed you are at Louis-"_

_The door flung open like an explosion and Violet stood there glaring at her, outrage radiating off of the blonde in a sickening cloud. She thrust an accusing finger into Ruby's chest. "Shut the hell up! You don't get a goddamn opinion!" Violet howled. Her eyes were filled with fire while they glared daggers into the medic. "I'm fucking done talking about Louis or what other people think of me and Clem! I swear to god, if you don't go RIGHT NOW I will break your jaw!"_

_With that, the door slammed closed and locked before the southern survivor could even think of a response. "Violet! Open the damn door!" She demanded, pounding on the old wood. She refused to be so brazenly disrespected by a girl that was not only supposed to be her friend but her leader. After half a minute of no success, she finally let her lightly aching hand down with a growl. "Fine! Be a bitch! Ah'll just go back to fixin' everyone's messes like always!"_

"She wasn't really in th'mood fer conversation. I'd give it a day er'two, at least." She answered, settling on it as the best compromise. The disappointment was clear as day on Louis' face, but for once, he didn't have anything to say. For the best, really. She was running out of steam anyway. Her eyes felt heavy while she snuck barely stifled yawns in between chores. It was hardly a new feeling, hell, it'd basically been her default state since her beloved mentor's death left her as the only medical 'expert' in the group. No rest for the wicked and all that. Ruby let out a breath as she sat down in one of the old waiting chairs, the frankly uncomfortably designed seat still a relief to her after spending at least the last three or four hours on her feet. Something hard and angular pressed uncomfortably against her skin, the medic looking down and seeing a slight bulge in her vest. She carefully reached in and readjusted the stolen pistol's position in the vest pocket. She had been one of the people AJ deemed worthy of having their visitors' guns, and while she was hardly an expert at using handguns, she probably had the most shooting experience out of anyone in the school other than Clem, AJ, and Minerva. Aside from Aasim, she didn't know who if anyone he gave the weapons to. For all she knew, Clementine could be walking around with two pistols on her hips the next morning. Hopefully either he had the sense of mind not to offer one or she had the sense to refuse it if he did.

Ruby closed her eyes. Lordy, what a day. Tomorrow would probably be more of the same. If she were lucky, maybe this was a sign the school's most troublesome days were behind them. After all this excitement, anything more was unimaginable. At least give themselves a bit of time to figure out their own shit before throwing more on the pile. Another yawn broke her away from her thoughts, the medic too slow to stop this one from sounding off. "Caught ya! Knew you'd slip sooner or later," Louis called out without missing a beat. She threw him a faux glare with a roll of her eyes. Despite mischievous glint in his eyes, his tone became more genuine as he continued. "Seriously though, you've been up for a while. Shouldn't you head to bed?"

"Shouldn't you?" She deadpanned. He rolled his eyes.

"You seriously did that again? Take it from me, making the same joke twice in a row is a pretty bad idea. You've gotta use funny lines like fine wine." The musician lectured her.

Ruby rolled her eyes in turn. "Uh huh. Tell ya what, you stick to bad jokes, Ah'll stick to medicine. Deal?"

He gave an exaggerated gasp. "Bad jokes? I'm wounded. Besides the literal one, I mean."

"Case an' point." Ruby argued back, trying to fight the smirk attempting to play out over her. Didn't need to blow up his ego any larger than it already was by giving away how funny he actually was at times. She shook her head, leaning back. Eh, probably it wouldn't hurt to get a couple minutes of shuteye before she got back to work. Louis would wake her up if anything serious happened. The mental fog of sleep was beginning to settle over her mind, comfortingly numb as it carried her away from the troubles of the real world. At last, the rest that eluded the doctor for so long was finally upon-

A shrill scream split the night and ripped Ruby from her fragile dreamscape. Bloodcurdling and lengthy, the agony was clear as day in it even as muffled as it was by the time it reached her ears. She was on her feet in an instant, eyes shooting to a similarly startled looking Louis. "The hell was that? Was it you?"

The pianist shook his head vigorously. "No! It sounded like it was coming from down the hall!" Louis clarified in clear alarm. Dammit, what the hell was going on now?! She sprinted over to the door and bolted through, not stopping to hear whatever Louis was calling out behind her. The nurse's office was on the far end of the admin building, essentially the opposite side of the building from the music room but much further down the hall and sitting at the corner between the west wing where the faculty dorms resided and the admin building proper. It was a somewhat lengthy walk from the office, but running could cut the time in half. The decrepit and disfigured halls of the school rushed passed her in a blur of dark blues, barely illuminated by the moonlight. The scream hadn't stopped, only growing in volume and intensity the closer she got to the staircase. Shrill shouts of terrorized anguish were soon replaced by animalistic howls and yells. By the time she climbed the first flight of stairs, however, it all went quiet. The admin building slipped into a deathly quiet that managed to be far more worrying.

"What's goin' on here?!" She demanded as she reached the second floor, bolting towards the office. She was decently certain the noise was coming from there, seeing as how it took up most of the second floor on its own. "Ah know Ah heard-" She stopped mid sentence as she walked into the room. Ruby's hand clasped over her mouth in disbelief. Before her laid Violet, weakly cradled in a bruised and bloodied Minerva's arms with a knife embedded in her neck. The sight refused to compute in the medic's mind for the first few seconds. This couldn't really be happening, right? She probably just dozed off and was having a bad dream was all. Louis'd probably have some smartass comment about it when she woke up… lord, how she wanted to believe that.  "What…" Ruby trailed off, still too shocked to speak. Some movement caught her eye, glancing towards it to find Clementine trembling, tears running down half her face while dark crimson trailed from her empty socket and a look of absolute loss adorning her features. The country girl's flicked back to Minerva who looked up at her with wet eyes. It only served to make her anger flair. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"

"... I-I didn't mean for this to happen. It wasn't supposed to-"

"Is she hurt?" Clementine interrupted, turning to Minerva. A beat passed without a response, Clementine's regret transforming into an animalistic rage. "Fucking answer me, Minerva! Is she hurt?! I'll-"

"She's dead. I killed her." Minerva said quietly.

Horror dawned on Clem's face. "Th-that's a lie!" The blind brunette half screamed, half sobbed. "Ruby, tell me she's lying!"

The redhead cringed. Oh, fuck, no. Please lord, don't be the one that has to shatter this poor girl's heart. Clem didn't deserve this, not after everything else she'd gone through. There was little arguing with the fact that Violet wasn't likely to walk away from this. But… she hadn't actually _confirmed_ her old friend's death yet. It was improper to make a diagnosis without investigating thoroughly, even if it looks like a fatal wound. Ms. Martin had taught her that from the first day she taught the foul-mouthed medic how to treat wounds, and it had saved lives more times than she could count. After all, Clementine had her head split wide open when Marlon and Aasim dragged her into the school. As unlikely as it was, she owed it to the blonde and her girlfriend to at least try. However, she wouldn't be able to get anything done with Minerva in the way. She fumbled out the pistol AJ had given her earlier that day, pointing it the raider. She wanted to just shoot her right then and there, take her out like she deserved, but the gun suddenly felt so heavy in her hands every time the thought crossed her mind. A part of Ruby doubted she had it in herself. She'd always saved lives, never ended them. Hell, the only one of the original students still living there that she knew had taken a life was Violet herself. The best the medic could manage was a threatening tone and hateful glare. "Get the fuck away from'er," She ordered. Minerva showed no sign of hearing the words simply staring down Violet blankly. "Hey! Ah said get! Don't test me, Minnie, not after this!"

"... She's going to turn." Was the marauder's only response. Her cold blue eyes flicked to the knife, making Ruby's stomach drop. Before she could voice her outrage, though, Minerva gently laid the body on the ground and backed off to the desk. The sightless survivor's mouth turned into a threatening snarl at the cruel words.

"She's not dead!" Clementine hissed back. Her voice broke

Ruby kept the gun on Minerva as she approached Violet. "Clementine, Ah need you to get the others, alright? Tell'em to bring supplies. Stitches, gauze, everything."

Clementine hardly seemed to notice her words, the girl's face twisting into an expression of pure rage. Her unseeing gaze was still locked firmly on the raider. "... She… she can't be dead… she... I'll fucKING KILL YOU!" The blind brunette howled out. She shot to her feet and was practically about to lunge at Minerva when Ruby grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Kill'er later! If you want Vi to live, get the others and the supplies! Hurry!" She ordered, her disabled friend hesitating for only a moment before the rage seemed to disappear into a desperate determination and she raced out of the office. The group doctor fought off the fear and fury trying to claw their way into her mind as she hunched over Violet's still form, praying to find anything that would disprove her suspicions. The first thing she noticed was that she was still breathing, light, shallow breaths, but breaths all the same. She wished she could take it as a positive sign, but that was no guarantee that Violet was alive. Walkers had similar breathing patterns. It could mean she was already beginning to turn for all the young survivor knew. Carefully, Ruby lifted up Violet's wrist and felt for a heart beat. She closed her eyes, focusing solely on the artery under her fingers. Small pulses protested against her touch, the young doctor letting out a gasp of relief. The blonde wasn't dead, at least not yet. Hope leapt up inside her, but the logical side of her brain suppressed it. Getting her hopes up before she even knew the likelihood of survival was a recipe for disaster. Ruby's gaze flicked up to Violet's face, pain etched into it like a mask. Her mouth was twisted into a grimace, but more of note was the soft flaring of the leader's nostrils. If she could still breath through her nose, that meant her airway hadn't been compromised. That made her odds a little better.

Regarding the wound itself, she noted that there was surprisingly little blood, only thin trickles coming out from the very edges of the blade. The pressure from the knife had clearly contained most of the bleeding. Probably the only reason Violet was still alive, ironically.  A cold sweat of dread drenched her as she realized what exactly had to happen to save Violet. The knife needed to come out, obviously, but she would be bleeding like a stuck pig the second that knife moved an inch.

Minerva had unintentionally made a nightmarish logic puzzle for them to solve. A correct answer saved a life. An even slightly off one made their leader drown to death in her own blood. There was no way she could do this on her own. It'd already be borderline impossible when the others arrived to help, but the very idea of trying to save Violet alone like this would be laughable if it weren't so awful. Literally all she could do was sit there and watch Violet's struggling breaths against the cold steel that split her throat in two. She needed the others, but that also left the problem of whether or not her breathing would stop entirely before the others could even get close to them. It would be very easy for something to stop the airflow, and it that happened, she would be risking CPR on a walker. A single mistake, and one death could become several. This knife needed to get out ASAP. All the first aid in the world meant jack if the patient didn't get what they really needed. She glanced back up at Minnie suspiciously, but her former friend seemed to be completely checked out. Seemed the soldier wouldn't be of much help or harm at this point, but that wasn't enough to consider her trustworthy.

It couldn't have been more than maybe a minute, but it felt like a lifetime before the sound of racing footsteps flying up the stairs finally reached her ears. She glanced back to find Clem, Willie, Aasim, and Omar in the doorway. Omar looked like hell, a dark blue mark encompassing most of his throat. Clementine's bleeding seemed to have mostly subsided, the crimson tears now a dryish smear on her cheek. "O-oh my god…" Aasim gasped out, fear as clear on his face as it was in his voice. The former firebug was probably the most composed of the four, however. Willie looked about ready to puke, Omar was clearly still half out of it from whatever happened to him, and Clementine was doing about as one would expect of an already mentally unstable teenager now being confronted with the possible death of her girlfriend. Even as strong as she was, Clementine couldn't hide the way her hands were trembling or the wet sobs threatening to break out with every breath she took. "W-we brought the supplies. Is she…"

"She's got a chance. Bring'em here," She instructed. The boys quickly hurried over, each placing various surgical supplies by her side. Needle and thread, antiseptic, bandages, and just about everything else she'd need. If it was possible to save Vi, it would be with these. "Alrighty then. We need to get'er to the nurse's office soon as we can, y'all. Willie, get a cot or somethin' so we can carry her." Ruby ordered firmly. Willie turned from her with a suspicious glare being pointed at the long-since silent Minerva.

"What about her? She stabbed Violet, right? We should-"

"Kill her? I couldn't agree more." Clementine interrupted with a dangerous tone.

The redhead growled out in frustration. "We can deal with her when Vi ain't dyin'! Now shut the hell up and help me!" The medic shouted. Criminey, there wasn't time to have a damn trial right now! She ignored the twelve year old's scornful look as he grumbled something under his breath yet left for the transportation all the same. "Omar, take Clem to Miss Martin's station an' look'er over 'til we get there."

Clementine's expression darkened. "I'm _not_ leaving her again."

Oh, for the love of… "Yes you are, Clementine! If you wanna help, leave her t'me! You an' Omar go tell Louis what happened an' get him moved so the bed's free. There ain't nothin' more you can do for her right now." Ruby firmly announced.

Clementine took a step towards her. "He can do that by himself. I'll be fine, just let me stay with her!"

"Yer only gonna be in the way!" The redhead shouted in frustration. She regretted the words instantly, a pang hitting her at the blind brunette's shocked and devastated expression. Shit. She meant it, but not for it to be quite so biting. "She'll be safe with me, Clem, Ah promise you. Go with him, and we'll handle it from here." The medic quickly added in a softer voice. It did little to soothe her former leader, the girl looking away in shame while her bloodied hands balled into fists. Her heart went out for her dear friend, but frankly, she'd rather hurt Clem's feelings and have her out of the way than have her in here and having a complete breakdown if something went wrong. She would apologize when the situation was more stable. Clementine followed Omar's gentle lead pulling along her hand without so much as a breath of protest. As Clem went off to get to follow Ruby's orders, she turned to Aasim. "Hey, you still got yer gun?" She questioned. He gave a firm nod. "Keep Minnie here. Don't hesitate if she tries anything, y'hear? And fer God's sake, don't get yerself killed." Her voice softened a little by the end. She couldn't bear the thought of losing two friends in the same night _again_ . Refocusing on her patient, Ruby slipped her own weapon back into her pocket. She'd need two hands to do this properly. While removing the blade in general was dangerous, if she didn't just straight up bleed to death, there was a chance some of it could spill into her airway if they didn't establish the proper angle. Her hand took the back of Violet's skull. She delicately raised Violet, angling her head and neck to be as close to vertical as she could manage without impacting the knife. Now came the difficult part. "Aasim, Ah need you to _very_ carefully take this," She reached into her pocket and held out the scrap of fabric. "And be ready to hold it down tight on the wound the second the knife's outta there. We need to put enough pressure on it that the bleedin' can clot'n'reseal itself. Only got one shot at this."

Her old friend looked nervous, which she could hardly blame him for, but he seemed to find his resolve after a second. "Okay. I can do this. It's no different than Omar's leg…" He mumbled to himself. Ruby took a steadying breath and gave a silent prayer that this would work before gripping the handle and ripping it upwards. She instantly tossed the knife away and refitted her spare hand to tighten her grip on the gauze as Aasim quickly shoved it on top of the rapidly filling pool of blood, the pair holding it as fiercely as they could manage. If she let up for even a second, Violet was as good as dead. God knows how long they held it there, praying that this managed to work. If the plan was successful, the bleeding would solve itself without impairing her breathing. It was hardly professional, but considering her woefully inadequate skills and equipment needed for the situation, this was the best bet they had. The blood clots could still become a long term issue even if they managed to stop the bleeding at the moment. Still, between the options of maybe killing her later or absolutely killing her now, Ruby was far more in favor of the former. The pale yellowish white slowly corrupted into an ominous dark red, but it was holding. After a few more minutes, the slow spread of black on the fabric ceased completely. "... Do you think it worked?" He questioned.

Truthfully, she didn't know. "Only one way to know… be ready to clamp this down again, alright?" The country girl said with a bit of hesitancy. She ever so slowly lifted up the covering. The blood that was there didn't instantly bubble over like it usually would with continued bleeding. A quick glance at the victim's chest showed she was still breathing, labored as it was, getting a relieved sigh out of her. "Ah think it did. Okay… Aasim, yer gonna hafta hold Violet's head like Ah am right now."

He gave a nod, circling around her and taking hold of Violet's limp body. She grabbed one of the cotton balls from the pile of supplies and the antiseptic. In truth, it was probably for the best Violet was unconscious right now, because she'd probably want to die after what came next. Ruby gently rested the cotton ball against their last bottle of rubbing alcohol and tilted it, nose crinkling as the bitter smell of the antiseptic mixed with the coppery stench of gore. In ideal situations, using rubbing alcohol would be a bad idea, something like iodopovidone being a far better and safer disinfectant. Unfortunately, with the world being over for the better part of a decade, choices were scarce in terms of proper treatment. This was the closest she could get to a proper disinfectant. Well, this or pouring Marlon's old bottle of booze onto some cloth. She gave a sympathetic sigh as she looked down at the blonde. "Sorry, Vi… hope you can't feel none a'this," The doctor whispered with a frown less than a second before she applied the cold yet burning liquid to the outer wound. There'd be no point in going all this way in saving Violet from almost certain death just to have her keel over from an accidental infection over looked and ultimately forgotten about in the heat of the moment. Any conscious patient would probably have passed out at this point. She cringed as she saw the flesh practically sizzle under the touch of the impromptu antiseptic. She let it sit for a moment as she tried to psyche herself up for what came next. With the bleeding stopped and the wound disinfected, there was still the matter of Violet having an open cut on her throat. It would need to be closed, and soon. "Alrighty now… Ah need to have both hands free to stitch her up, so keep holdin' her."

Her fingers delicately collected the needle and thread, dipping the former in the rubbing alcohol in an attempt to sterilize it. It only took a moment to loop the thread through the eye before her prep work was finished. She took a shaky breath as she raised the needle up to Violet's throat, an unsettling red and black chasm frequently interrupted by veins, muscles, and bones serving as her target. Congealed and clotted blood sealed off the previously leaking tissues in an ominous blanket of blackish red. It wasn't a very big laceration, thankfully. The stab only left a small cut in terms of the superficial damage, which meant that stitching would be relatively simple. Well, as simple as suturing a good friend's slashed throat could be. She very carefully pinched the two sides together and got the needle as close to the edge as possible before pushing it through. A small prick of crimson bubbled to the surface where the needle had punctured, a mirror of it soon appearing on the exit point dead ahead of it. By her estimates, this would need at least twelve stitches total. Five would repair each inch of the cut, and then two stitches vertically to fully seal it. She angled the needle, this time pushing from the right into the left. It was a slow and deliberate process, but the danger of the situation prevented the boredom that might have usually numbed the experience. Minutes ticked by completely unnoticed by the doctor as she watched as the black thread slowly but surely disappeared under angry-looking skin until the only evidence of her injury were the stitches themselves. By the time she was done, one could probably mistake Violet for merely asleep if they didn't notice the flecks of lukewarm blood painting her clothes.

Ruby tied the excess into a tight double knot on each end, her fingers smeared red and heart pounding in her chest despite the steadiness of her hands. With that, their improvised surgery came to an end. It was hardly professional work, and in truth she was doubtful that it had really done much, but it was all she could do. With her task complete, she let herself breathe and ruminate on precisely what just happened. She still couldn't fully believe it. Violet, one of her oldest surviving friends, nearly murdered by her own girlfriend after she risked life and limb to save her. Christ, how horrible. The very idea of it was enraging. "... How in the hell did all this happen…" She muttered to herself.

Minerva shifted a little, drawing their eyes. "... I didn't-"

"Stop talkin'. Right now. I don't wanna hear yer excuses. In fact, Ah don't wanna hear your voice for the rest of my life, Minnie. Yer gone, you understand?! Dead t'me!" Ruby's voice steadily raised with each word until it became a scream. How fuckin' _dare_ she?! They took her in as family for years when the world abandoned her, cared for her and her kin like they were their own flesh and blood, and then she has the gall to turn her back on them time after time?! To murder her own sister, blind their savior, attack the people who fought to keep her here in the first place, and then damn near kill their leader?! Fuck her! "You know what? Don't keep her here. Get this fuckin' snake outta the school."

"That's not what we voted-"

"Damn the vote," The fiery-tempered redhead hissed. "Case you haven't noticed, both a'our leaders are outta commission. 'Til one of them ain't, someone's gotta make calls, and Ah'm calling that we dump her ass outside the gate. We tried it your way, an' look what happened. Either you do it, or Ah do it muhself." Her fierce tone left no room for argument. After a few moments of hesitation, the scholarly survivalist took out his weapon and pointed it at Minerva.

"Come on. Don't make things worse than they are already." Aasim quietly ordered. Minerva slowly and wirelessly got to her feet, Aasim moving behind her before they got on their way. She wished she could have had some sort of satisfaction with the act, but as the rage faded away, all that was left was a slightly bitter hollowness. How could things have gone so wrong? Letting out a deep sigh, she waited for Willie to arrive with the makeshift stretcher. Ruby had officially done all she could at this point. Now it was in the hands of the Lord. He hadn't done the world too many favors lately, but she prayed he'd grant them this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violet's alive!  
> ... for the moment. Ruby's not exactly a world class surgeon. And as the games have previously established, surviving one major injury is no garuntee of complete survival.
> 
> Also, temporary protagonist Ruby because literally everyone else is either comatose, unable to see what's happening, or in a completely different building.


	20. Saying Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis deals with the fallout of Minerva's escape. Minerva goes into exile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity, would anyone be interested in seeing a Season 2 story from me? I've got an idea for an AU branch in the same sort of vein as this, IE a mixture of soft canon divergences that lead to full alternate episodes. TL;DR summary of the idea is Clem gets bit at the end of 2-3 instead of Sarita and we go from there. I don't want to write it if there isn't an audience, but it's a concept I like.

_ For what?! Kenny has his family, and you have Clementine. _

_ I.  _ _ Have.  _ _ Nothing" _

Blood and gore was hardly a foreign sight to Louis. He'd seen and killed enough walkers at this point to not puke his guts out at the sight of someone else's. He didn't  _ like  _ it by any means, but there wasn't much room for squeamishness in this day and age. Of course, there was an exception: he'd never,  _ ever  _ gotten used to seeing his friends hurt. Marlon having his brains blown out, Clem's sliced eye and hollow socket, even Minerva bleeding out on the boat, all of them and far more were burned into his mind. So naturally, when Clementine rushed into the nurse's office with blood streaking her face and freshly formed bruises peppering her body with Aasim and a clearly strangled Omar, he was a bit taken aback. It didn't help that they almost completely ignored him as they grabbed supplies, increasing his worry more and more until Omar hurriedly admitted that Minerva had gotten out and hurt Violet. They rushed off almost instantly after, scrambling down the hall without another word. Each heartbeat was like a bomb going off in his ears. 'Hurt' could mean fucking  _ anything _ . Maybe she broke the blonde's finger, or maybe she shot her in the chest with a shotgun. His imagination only twisted more and more with each passing minute. Seemingly a millennia later, Omar returned with an absolutely despondent Clementine in toe. They both ignored his questions, the former likely too focused on patching up the latter to notice while she was quieter than a corpse. He stopped bothering to ask eventually. In the oppressive silence, he could only spiral down a rabbit hole of worry at what exactly happened to her. Whatever she did must have been serious to leave Clementine like this, much to his concern, but he held out some hope that maybe Violet was still okay. Hurt, maybe, but okay overall. He held out hope right until Willie awkwardly backed into the room carrying a cot, his jaw dropping in horror when he saw what laid on it.

The world seemed to freeze around him, not unlike that seemingly endless moment after he realized Marlon was dead. He could feel his breathing completely stop, the musician too shocked to do anything other than stare at Violet's still form uncomprehendingly. No. Nope. Not real. Bad dream that his fucked up brain imagined to punish him for hurting her. There was no way he was really staring at his best friend with blood smeared over her throat and clothes and looking even paler than usual. That- that just couldn't be the case. She'd been shouting at him just a couple hours ago, she couldn't be dying right now… could she? They said she was attacked, not that she was… the reality of the situation hit him like a bus. _ Yes _ , Violet could very easily be dying right now. She could become yet another face and name lost to the world in seconds, because everyone he ever knew and loved could. That was his whole philosophy, wasn't it? 'The only certainty is right now, this moment'. He'd said that so many times… and at this moment, right now, one of the people he admired and respected more than anything in the world was laying there covered in her own blood. Louis was transfixed by her oddly peaceful expression. He never got to say he was sorry, not properly. She was dying and she must have spent her last waking moments hating him. He vaguely recognized that people were talking, but he was far too focused on Violet to bother listening to them. This couldn't be happening, not  _ again _ . Not to her. They all agreed that first night with Clem that he'd die first, so why did they keep leaving him? He didn't want to he alone. He-

"Louis!" A twanged voice hissed out quietly, the scolding person and an accompanying snapping in his ear finally catching his attention. His gaze snapped to Ruby looking directly at him, a grin look on her face. "Did you hear a word a'what Ah just said?" She whispered out, casting a nervous glance towards Violet. Following her gaze revealed it wasn't just the blonde, but her clearly inconsolable girlfriend practically collapsed at her side with poorly disguised anguish. He looked back to her with a shake of her head.

"Vi… Violet's dyi-"

"No, she ain't," Ruby sharply interrupted. She glowered at him. "She wouldn't be here if she was beyond savin' already. C'mon, we need ya t'keep it together now. Pay attention, this is important."

Louis mentally kicked himself. Here he was fucking around again. Hadn't he promised he'd stop that? "Sorry, I just…  _ fuck _ , Ruby. I can't believe it." He murmured out. Her expression softened a little.

"... Yeah, me neither. But… we needta talk. Right now," The redhead conceded in a more forgiving tone. She lowered her voice as she continued. "We got lucky. Real lucky, honestly. Ah got to her before her breathin' could stop, an' there weren't no problems gettin' th' knife outta her."

He let out a sigh of relief, a shaky smile coming to his lips. "So she's gonna be alright, right?" He asked, already mentally prepping himself for her to say yes. Of course, he was just over reacting. He just freaked out because it was on her neck. This was probably like the flesh-woundiest throat stabbing in existence. Violet would be fine, and he could still-

His heart dropped when she shook her head slightly. Her words were low, barely more than a whisper, but they carried a firmness that he dared not argue with. She took in a deep breath and managed to keep her voice steady despite the worry tinting the words. "... Lou… in all honesty, Ah don't know if she'll ever wake up. Ah'm not a doctor, an' even if Ah was, we don't have near the equipment we should fer somethin' like this. Everything we could do, we did, but Ah don't know if it'll be enough. She could be up talkin' an' bein' her usual self tomorra, or she could… we've gotta be ready fer the very real possibility she's gonna die, Louis. As ready as we can be, a'least." Ruby's confessed heavy heartedly, the redhead keeping her worried gaze on the comatose Violet and transfixed Clementine watching unseeingly over her. Louis' heart broke at the sight of Clem looking so completely lost. She was tough, tougher than all of them put together, but… after everything Clementine had gone through in the last month alone, he wouldn't be surprised if she broke completely in the event Ruby's solemn warning came to pass. He wanted nothing more than to be able to deny it completely, to say with full confidence that his snarky best friend would wake up in the morning and have a long happy life with Clementine, but he couldn't. The truth was he was at least as terrified by the idea of Violet's demise as Clem was. Those two were inseparable without a doubt, but even then, they hadn't spent the last ten years together like Louis and Vi had. If she did die, the musician was doubtful he or the school as a whole would ever fully recover. The school's fearless leader had been there for him in his darkest hours, and he for hers. The fact that she might be gone forever was one that made his blood run cold.

That wasn't even considering what would happen to the others if she perished. Violet could be an asshole sometimes, sure, but she was largely the glue that had held the school together over the past several weeks. He was hardly leadership material on his own, Clementine… was Clementine, and the others had no real taste for leadership. Even Aasim seemed to have lost interest after the last guy in charge got his brains blown out in front of everyone. The school would be absolutely crippled without a real leader holding it together. Without her to keep people in line, how the hell would they maintain order? They couldn't afford to split apart, especially not now that other people knew about them now. Hs realized the seconds were passing by and the medic was expecting an answer. His lips thinned before twisting into a small frown. "... So… be straight with me. What are the chances Vi  _ does  _ recover?" Louis asked, ever the optimist. Her own frown told him he probably wouldn't like the answer, but she said it regardless.

"Honestly? Flip a coin. There's not a whole lot more we can do, other than makin' sure she don't starve or start goin' into atrophy. It's outta our hands now." Ruby sympathetically stated. Louis tried not to groan, instead silently running his hands through his dreads.

That was- fuck. FUCK. Fifty-fifty? She had as good a chance of survival as he did winning rock paper scissors? He was terrible at rock paper scissors! His heart sank at the words. The musician always despised waiting, even before the end of the world. Hell, especially before. With his parent's bank accounts, he got anything he wanted when he wanted. Things that he had to wait for pissed him off. And now… now he had to wait, just to know if the closest thing he had left to family would die in her sleep. Sure, fuck it, why not. Why not throw another dire consequence of a stupid mistake in his face? Clearly he hadn't learned from all the others. His gaze had shifted down to the floor, preferring to examine the cracked and scratched wood flooring. The universe was  _ really  _ not going to let his crime go unpunished for even a day, huh? Fine, he had it coming, but couldn't it leave everyone else alone? Vi, Clem, nobody in the school deserved all of this. Was his bad luck just a cloud that followed him around? Maybe it really was all his… no, now wasn't the time to beat himself up over being a moron. Now was the time to just  _ stop _ being a moron and actually do something useful. So… what exactly  _ could  _ he do? 

Ruby clicked her tongue softly. "Ah… hell, no point in lyin'. I need some fresh air. Do ya think you could… y'know, talk to her? It don't feel right, leavin' her alone like this. 'Specially not now. Just… say enough to let her know we're here, y'know?" The medic asked, clearly cautious of asking this of him after everything. He couldn't blame her, but shit did it still sting to see a light suspicion in her gaze. He glanced over at the girl in question, his lips tightening. Clementine… Clem might just snap for good after this. She was strong, sure, but the poor girl was already severely fractured mentally, and for all their ups and downs, she and Violet adored each other. If Clem lost her girlfriend after the trauma conga line of a life she's already had… if the blind brunette hadn't broken already, she was going to be positively shattered by this. He'd already gotten a glimpse of what a broken Clementine looked like back on that boat. The idea of that psychotic shell of his best friend with even less limitations or moral trappings was beyond terrifying. Christ… what was Minerva thinking? Did the raider even understand exactly what she'd done? Why couldn't the girl have just moved on, live out life at the school in a tenuous peace instead of making enemies out of everyone. There was no way she could stay at the school anymore. Even if he wanted her there, which he definitely didn't, there was no way she would ever be safe from the people she'd spurned. Minerva was marked for death now, and if he knew one thing for sure about Clementine, it was that she was very, very good at killing people. Blind or not, he had no doubt she'd find a way to get her unbridled revenge on the blonde's former lover. Honestly, though, he had half a mind to let her do as she pleased to Minnie after all she'd done.

Louis shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that. Violet wasn't dead and gone yet. With luck, she wouldn't be period. The class clown turned leader repeated that mantra in his head over and over. Violet would be pissed if he sat around wallowing in his own misery while the others needed him. Well, she'd be pissed at him for a lot of reasons, but that was beside the point.  _ When  _ she woke up, he'd make sure everything was in tip top shape for her. He was the sole remaining leader now. This was one of those times where stepping up was needed, and so he would do it. He took a breath. Right. Serious leader mode starting… now. Being in charge meant being there for everyone, and as he watched over Clementine kneeling by Violet's bedside, he had a pretty good idea of where to start. As much as talking to Clem after all this scared him, deep down, leaving her to her own depression-plagued thoughts was something he refused to do. Louis rose from his seat, the sudden pressure on his bum leg allowing a pained hiss to escape him.  He probably shouldn't be walking right now, but there were a lot of things he shouldn't do that he did anyway.

He dragged his uncooperative limb behind him with every timid step towards his traumatized teammate. He slowly sat down next to her as he tried to figure out what to say. "... Hey," He greeted lamely. Awesome, Louis. Ten out of ten. Clementine didn't even seem to realize he was there, still staring down at her comatose girlfriend with an unseeing gaze. Even facing away from him, the various cuts and bruises brought on by her struggle with Minerva were evident. The brunette's favorite hat had gotten lost amongst the chaos, leaving her brown curls out in the open. He made a mental note to return it to her when he got the chance, whatever small comfort it could provide her duly needed. Dried blood still caked her cheek, a small eyepatch of bandages sealing off Minerva's internal scratches while her now customary blindfold laid forgotten on the counter from when Ruby initially removed it. Her remaining eye was redder than usual, puffy with recently shed tears. Her somewhat labored breathing served as a reminder of her broken nose. That breathing hitched for a moment when he hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, but she otherwise gave no indication that she noticed his presence. He tried to find any way to break the ice without her breaking his neck. Something inoffensive without making him seem like an insensitive dumbass. "... It'll be okay. I-" His attempt at comfort was interrupted by her whipping her head around, her expression looking like she'd either rip his throat out on the spot or burst into tears. Maybe both. The two stared at each other for a brief moment. "Clem?"

Her fierce expression faltered, pain and loss over taking the veneer of anger. "... That night when we got off the boat, you told me you believed in me. Trusted me not to lose control… but I did," She was practically whispering to herself at the last few words. Hell, maybe she actually was talking to herself by the end of it. She closed her eye for a long moment. "I thought this could work, and I was wrong, and now Violet might die because of me."

_ "Back to square one on Clem not hating herself,"  _ He thought sorrowfully. He shook his head in disagreement as he replied. "This wasn't your fault, Clem. It's not like you stabbed her."

Her expression hardened. "She got stabbed trying to  _ save me _ , Louis. Have you ever had someone you care about die to keep you alive?" Her voice had a hint of irritation to it, almost like she was asking it rhetorically. His lips quirked downward. Ms. Martin, Leon, Mitch, there were more names and faces on that list than he'd like to count.

_ "It should've been you! None of this would have happened if they just took you!" _

Louis clenched his eyes shut as Violet's last words to him rang in his head like a bell of damnation. Clementine hadn't died for them… but a part of her did. The sweet if often stern girl that had strolled into the music room a lifetime ago perished on that boat. For that, he owed what was left of her everything. No matter what betrayals he'd committed, from here on out, he had to be there for her just as he'd lectured the comatose girl before him about. Clem apparently took his pause as a confession as she continued. "Then you know why it feels that way. Enough people have died saving me to fill a fucking graveyard, and now…" She didn't bother finishing, turning her attention back to their unconscious companion. Louis looked her over with saddened eyes. He absolutely despised the fact that she needed to be tied down, but what choice did they have? At least he could joke about it if she were awake, draw out one of those eyerolls that made his day or even get her or Clem to blush. Pretend there was some level of normality left between the three of them. Instead, there was only the deafening quiet that only her faint breathing and Ruby's work in the background interrupted, as if daring to talk too loud would push their injured compatriot other the edge of life or death. The blind brunette was the first to break the tentative silence. "It's not fair. She didn't deserve this…"

The pianist scraped together the most optimistic voice he could manage given the circumstances. "Hey, Violet's tough as nails. This won't stop her for long. She'll probably wake up telling me to-"

"I'm not stupid, Louis!" Clementine growled, shooting him a spiteful glare. The pianist was stunned into silence at her biting tone. Some of the animosity fell away when her hand found Violet's, gently enveloping it. "Don't try to bullshit me. I can hear you whispering behind my back. I know that she might die… probably  _ will  _ die. I'm tired of just resigning myself to everyone dying to make it easier when it happens. I want to have hope for once..." The girl revealed softly. She delicately cupped Violet's cheek, a weak half smile appearing for less than a second before being shattered. "But every time I let myself get comfortable, something happens. People die. I get burned for having that hope. She... She means so much to me, Louis.  _ So  _ much. If I let myself get my hopes up and then she dies anyway, I…" Clementine trailed off. She stared down at her girlfriend with a pained expression. "I don't know what I'd do."

Something about her tone of voice threw up major red flags for Louis. He'd heard that voice on other people, people he found dangling from nooses or bled out in bed the day after. Would she… no, no way. She wouldn't do that. She was unbreakable. But… he'd also thought Kimberly was, too. That didn't keep her from hanging herself in the gym a few months in. Clementine took trauma in stride for as long as he'd known her, but she was hardly the same girl that rolled her amber eyes at his jabs and oh so witty remarks. He racked his brain to come up with something that could address those suspicions he had without making her defensive. It came to him after a beat. "She'll be alright, Clem. She loves you way too much to let something like a knife stop her. But no matter what, you know she'd want you to keep going, right?" He said as seriously as he could. He cringed a little as surprise briefly flashed over her features before she fixed him with a thoroughly insulted look.

"Jesus, Louis! I'm not going to kill myself, if that's what you're implying. I would  _ never  _ abandon AJ like that. You don't just give up when things get hard, not when people still need you. Not when so many people died to get me this far." Clementine spoke with a determination forged by loss. The worry on her face had given way to certainty. Louis couldn't help but feel ashamed at how he'd doubted his friend, despite the logical reasons he had behind doing so. Her harsh gaze slipped slightly as she sighed. "I wouldn't throw myself away like that. So… yeah. I know she wouldn't want me to give up, and I won't. I promise."

Despite the guilt, he couldn't deny it felt like a boulder being lifted off his shoulders. Well, thank god for that, at least. There was no way Louis could shoulder losing yet another best friend after everything. He managed a faint smile, about the biggest he could muster under the circumstances. "I… thank you, Clementine. I promise I won't either. And I promise, when I say I think Vi'll pull through, I mean every word of it. It'll be alright." The last standing leader swore to her. His former crush blinked, seemingly surprised by the earnestness carried in his voice. She paused, seeming to mull over his words. By the time she gave a small nod of acknowledgement, Clem didn't precisely look happier, but something about her had a hint of change to it now. Slightly less despairful was probably the closest he could come to actually describing the subtle shift in her body language. She slowly turned back to Violet, delicately stroking her messy blonde hair.

"... I really hope you're right, Louis. More than anything."

The two sat together in a tense silence, an unspoken agreement hanging between them to not break it without good reason. It wasn't especially easy for Louis. He had to ignore the part of him kicking and screaming to make some dumbass joke to lighten this suffocating atmosphere, but it was abundantly clear that the best thing he could do to help was just shut the hell up. His apology/explanation for kissing her could wait until this current storm finally passed. For now, she didn't need an apology, she needed a friend. It was time for him to be a better one to her.

***

Minerva felt hollow. That in it of itself wasn't especially unusual. She'd felt empty to various extents every day of her life, after all. No, what made this hollowness different was the intensity of it. It was like there was an endless void that made up her body that was only held in place by her skin and bones. This sensation of absolute nothingness had only occurred once before in her life: the morning after she killed Sophie, when it finally and fully sunk in that she would never see her sister again. In a way, it made sense. After all, she just murdered the closest friend she ever had.

_ Increasingly numb jolts of pain flashed through her with every savage punch Clementine slammed against her head. Most people might assume the decreasing pain was a good thing, but her years of experience taught her better. Minerva was starting to lose consciousness, and once that happened, Clementine would probably keep hitting until either her knuckles broke or Minerva's skull did. She was going to die. Hardly the first time she had that thought, but it was a fact at this rate. The redheaded raider had severely underestimated her neurotic nemesis, and was now paying for it in blood. The blind brunette clearly wasn't going to waste her second chance to take her torturer out. A nihilistic part of Minerva's mind was tempted to simply embrace that blanket of nothingness and let the end come to her. It was probably the closest thing to an apology she could make for all she's done. Of the many things Minerva was, however, apologetic was not one of them. Neither was suicidal. Despite all her self loathing, she was a survivalist above all else. She hadn't come this far and killed so many just to die right back where she started. _

_ Pulling the stolen knife out of her own leg hardly hurt at this point, but it proved rather resistant to being removed between her rapidly fading strength and the tense muscles refusing to de-tense. With a quiet but equally unsettling  _ **_schlip_ ** _ , the bloodsoaked metal was free and ready to put an end to her attacker. Frankly, at this point, it was probably a mercy for both of them. She twisted the knife in her slippery grasp to angle it towards Clementine, and though it was a little hard to tell with her vision threatening to go black and her eyes awash amidst the blind girl's barrage of fists, Minerva was decently certain this stab would be a fatal one. At the very least, it would open up the door to an escape and subsequent finishing blow. She could see her hand trembling, but didn't feel it.  _ **_"Now or never,"_ ** _ she decided. The marauder readied the knife, and with one last lungful of air, she thrust it deep into Clementine's throat. _

_ Or, at least, that was what was supposed to happen. Clementine had disappeared and suddenly Violet was there in her place, shock and pain captured as clearly as a photograph in her eyes. She blinked. That… this wasn't possible, and yet it was undeniable that it was happening. Warm and slick, Violet's blood painted her blade and hand as it briefly spurted out from the blonde's neck before dying into a faint trickle beneath the hilt of the blade. Her jaw dropped in horrified surprise, letting the knife go far too late to actually prevent harm. Violet gasped for breath, tumbling weakly to her elbows, her left arm giving out soon after and sending her rolling onto her back. There her former girlfriend laid, dead or dying. The reality of what just happened- no, what she just  _ **_did_ ** _ , caught up to her a few moments later. Oh, no. Fuck no. She- where the hell did Violet come from?! This wasn't supposed to happen! Violet needed to learn, but she never intended for her to die! That was a fucking bluff! She just wanted her to be stop being so reckless, not… this! She scrambled to her knees as her mask completely faded away. "Oh god, oh god, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, I…" She trailed off as tears threatened to escape. Violet… god damn it, Violet, why? Why the fuck did you have to try to be a hero? Their romance might not have been the most serious relationship in the world, but she had felt  _ **_something_ ** _ for the shy blonde. At the very least, they'd been close friends once upon a time. Memories of rooftop rendezvous spent making dumb jokes and cheesy poetry turned into music clashed with the image of the same girl lying dead by Minerva's hands. She… she murdered the only girl who ever loved her. _

That fact was the only thing her mind could focus on. Minerva had killed at least dozens of people over the last year alone, but there's always been a reason. They were traitors. They attacked first. The Delta needs their supplies more. Even Sophie had died for a reason, despite what everyone else tried to drill into her head. Violet… Violet didn't fit any of those criteria. She was making the wrong calls, sure, but there was no question that she meant it all with genuine intentions. Minerva started it by taking her hostage. The Delta was gone, and she'd be shot on sight anyway, so it didn't matter what they did or didn't need. For the first time in her life, Minerva took someone else's without a reason. Not just someone else's, her best fucking friend. The girl she thought would be with her to the end, at one point. The grim, damning reality of it was like a suffocating cloud around her, choking the life out of the atmosphere. It was probably part of the reason why Aasim hadn't spoken a word since Ruby declared her exilement. Even if she were interested in conversation, what was there left to say? She had no justification for what happened. He had no interest in her reasoning. Any words would just be wasted breath. Besides, they were less than ten feet to the gate. It would all be over soon.

"Minnie?!" An all too familiar voice carried over the courtyard from the dorms. Was that-

"T-Tenn?" Minerva sputtered out as she spun around. Sure enough, there stood her little brother, looking up at Aasim with a face full of abject betrayal as he ran towards them. Shit. He- he wasn't supposed to be here. Being kicked out without seeing him was heartbreaking, but being confronted by him here, right outside the gate? Her breathing stopped as her ice blue eyes locked with his soft brown ones. He was so much bigger than she remembered - had he grown in the last year? Seeing him from the nurse station's window was nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh like this. She could never have prepared for how  _ crushing  _ it was to see the confusion and heartbreak in his eyes.

"Te- go back to bed Tenn. You're sick, you shouldn't be walking around." Aasim instructed.

"Aasim, why are you pointing a gun at Minnie?" Tenn asked. The boy in question cringed shamefully, but was thankfully bright enough to not lower his weapon.

"... She… she's leaving, Tenn. Right now."

Fucking moron. Did that sound better in his head? Clearly the youngest among them found if as unsatisfactory as she did. "W-we voted… we voted that you can stay! Why are you going?" Tenn sputtered, about the closest to angry she'd ever heard the boy. She glanced back to Aasim, who looked like he'd rather curl up and die than have this conversation. Taking a deep breath, she took the burden upon herself.

"I killed Violet."

He flinched, staring at his sister wide eyed. "W-what…? Minnie?"

The incomprehension in his voice hurt more than any beating ever could. She forced words through clenched teeth in an attempt to make him understand. "I killed her, because I was trying to kill Clementine. I'm the one that took Clementine's eyes. I… I killed Sophie, too."

Each confession was like another bullet in her gut. To see the hope in his eyes dim, his frown become more and more taught. It was the worst of all when he learned the truth of his sister's demise, tears sprouting in the corners of his eyes. "You… you killed Sophie?" He questioned miserably. She gave a solemn nod, closing her eyes. She waited for him to finally break, hear his love for her turn into loathing just like nearly everyone else she'd ever known. What came instead might have been even worse. "I… I forgive you…"

Her eyes snapped open. "W-what?"

"I-I forgive you, Minnie! For all of it! Just… please, don't go!" Tenn begged, rushing up and throwing his arms around her in the tightest hug someone as small as him could manage. 

Her poor, naive brother… god, she wished he hated her. It would be so much easier if he did. But now, he was still the sweet and loving boy she left behind a year ago. Minerva let out a small sigh as she responded. "It's not yours to forgive, little brother. I… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Tenn. You deserved better than this…" She lamented.  _ "Better than me," _ went unsaid for his sake. Tenn frowned deeper, sadness, confusion, and frustration pooling into an expression completely ill-fitting with his usually soft spoken demeanor.

"Then… then take me with you!" He demanded tearfully. Her eyes widened in surprise. Did he really just say that? Aasim got over the surprise of it first.

"Tenn, no. That's not happening."

"I want to be with her! I thought she was dead, but she's here, and now she's leaving! I know I said I was okay without my sisters, but if she's alive… please, Aasim. I don't want to be alone again when I don't have to. Please, Minnie!"

Conflicting ideas warred in Minerva's mind. The knee-jerk reaction was to say yes. She could just grab Tenn and get the hell away from here, away from the constant reminders of her sins and that psychopath of a victim poisoning everyone's minds with false hope. They could  _ finally  _ be together after all this time. Just her and Tenn, no Delta or Clementine or anyone else that could split them apart. As usual, however, the flare of emotions were quickly smothered by doubtful and cold logic. Sure, he was in danger here, but that danger was existential. Outside of these walls, walkers would be the least of their problems. Winter was maybe another month away. There was no way she could make it far enough south to escape the snow on foot, especially not with Tenn. Even if they didn't get caught in a blizzard, food would be scarce to impossible to find. The idea of his already skinny frame wasting away day by day- she forced the cursed image out of her mind. She shook her head, kneeling down to his level and returning the embrace. "No, Tenn. You…" She swallowed down what was left of her pride. "You're safer here, with the others. I can't protect you like I should. I'm sorry I'm leaving you again, but it's better this way, okay?" Minerva pleaded with the one last thing she cared about in the world. It broke her stone-cold heart to watch the tears start to roll down his cheeks and his breathing begin to hitch. She gently wiped them away. "Hey, don't cry. I want you here. Sophie did, too. Don't be sad about doing the right thing."

He sniffled quietly, but gave a small nod. "... O-okay. I-if you want me to stay… I will."

She tried her hardest to force a smile. It had been so long that she nearly forgot how to do so. "Thank you, Tenn. I… I love you. Don't ever forget that." She whispered. Minerva slowly rose to her feet and hesitantly let him go. She took one last long look at him before turning away to the gates. Aasim stopped bothering to aim at her anymore the pistol resting limply by his side as he opened the gate with a metallic groan. He refused to make eye contact, more focused on her boots. She walked to it without another word, staring dead ahead. The trees seemed to form a tunnel in the dark of the night. As good a direction as any, she supposed. It took all her might not to look back at the sound of the metal gate crashing to a close far behind her, officially sealing her fate. Each and every step into the woods was like a stab in her heart, but she forced herself forward regardless. Love, regret, hope, despair, none of that mattered anymore. Minnie Rockingham died with her sister months ago. Now, whatever future her ghost might have had was gone. As she trekked further into the woods, the former raider had no thoughts as to where she'd sleep or where she'd go. No plans or hopes for what would come next.

She was just another of the walking dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've come to a bit of a problem. Writing this story at the rate I'm currently going at is unsustainable. I feel the quality of the story, as well as my enjoyment of writing it, is being negatively affected by my self-imposed quotas for chapters. In order to deal with this, I have thought of two options:
> 
> Option A: Reduce minimum chapter word count from 5,500 words to 4,000 words, but keep releasing a chapter a week.
> 
> Option B: Maintain word limit, but release chapters every two weeks instead of one week.
> 
> Option C: Put this story on a hiatus while I pursue other projects such as the previously mentioned S2 concept. I should note that this is my least favorite option for an author to take as a reader myself, and that the S2 story would be written regardless of whatever option was taken assuming there's interest, just a matter of when.
> 
> Which of these would be preferable for you guys? End of the day, what matters more than anything is making a satisfying story for all of you loyal readers.
> 
> EDIT: The vote has officially closed, ending at 14 votes for A and 11 votes for B. A close call, but weekly updates win.


	21. Striking Deals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis navigates the dangerous waters of intergroup politics without Violet or Clementine to guide him. Meanwhile, Minerva tries to make plans for a future she'd rather not wake up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I went down to the wire on this one. Still, managed to keep up the streak AND hit 6k words! Woohoo!

_ "There's no way you could have made it this long otherwise. I realized it back in that cabin. you were scared, but you looked me straight in the eye, kept your nerve, that's what we need. _

_ If we're ever going to get through this, the next generation is going to have to be tougher to lead us out of this." _

Hours vanished as Minerva trudged aimlessly through the thick woods, moonlight slipping into daylight and enveloping the land in a bright blanket. It was almost laughable how much it contrasted with the redhead's blank stare and lifeless walk. There was a slight ache in her feet from the nonstop walking after weeks of disuse, but like most other pains, she eventually tuned it out. She had to have been at least several miles away from the school at this point, yet she felt no urge to change direction or take a break. In truth, she felt no urge to do anything but just walk. That was basically all she had left now. 

Minerva's eyes closed, focusing only on the feeling of air entering and leaving her lungs. The hints of winter's chill had only worsened as time went on, the oxygen feeling like gulps of ice water. Her coat and boots protected her from the worst of it, but she'd need to get to shelter before nightfall or risk falling sleeping exposed to the elements. Food and water also had to be considered, but those were more mid-term problems that could be dealt with as they came. She's also have to keep an eye out for weapons-

Her eyes shot open as the sound of crunching leaves set her on high alert. She swirled to the source only to find a familiar face she'd have rather stayed dead. Her eyes narrowed at the hallucination of Sophie, just waiting for the cruel trick of her imagination to speak up. A tense minute passed without the phantom making a peep, somewhat unnerving to the surviving Rockingham twin. The ghost appeared to her often, but it was almost always incredibly vocal, just like the real Sophie was. For it to now be dead silent was like warmth missing from sunlight. The quiet dragged on for minutes as the two (one, dammit, she wasn't  _ real _ ) trekked through the wilderness until the atmosphere became too much for Minerva. "Sophie…" The redhead said testingly, feeling like a moron for talking to something she  _ knew  _ wasn't real. The taciturn twin didn't even bother to look at her killer. Minerva's frown gradually twisted into a snarl.  "... Say something, god damn it!"

"I'm trying  _ really  _ hard not to be mad right now…" Sophie spat out with a sideways glare. Her fists were clenched tightly, a sour expression on her face as the phantom marched alongside Minerva. The former raider looked away to focus on where she was walking. Great. Even her subconscious was pissed off at her. Maybe it was idiotic to do so, and certainly didn't speak well of her mental health, but she found herself compelled to try explaining herself to the delusion. 

"I didn't mean for it to happen like that," She hissed out through clenched teeth. "It just  _ did _ , and there's nothing that could change that."

"Bullcrap! Literally all you had to do was not be crazy and attack people!" Sophie screeched. Minerva checked her surroundings on instinct even despite knowing on some level that it didn't matter how loud the imaginary girl got. She glared at her, far more intimidating than a girl her size ought to have been. The hallucination threw an accusing finger towards her. "You could've stayed, Minnie! If you just played nice, you could've stayed with our friends. Now Violet's dead and you're as good as dead out here!"

" _ Your  _ friends. Their friend Minnie died." She corrected with a frown. An annoyed scoff burst from her dead sister.

"Really? You died, huh? That's funny, seeing as how you're standing here and I'm not!" Sophie shot back, crossing her arms. Minerva's jaw locked. As if she needed the reminder. The other redhead's expression softened a little, a sigh escaping her. "I died so you could go back to that school, and you threw that away. Do you get that?" 

Minerva stopped in her tracks. No… no, that was bullshit. "You died so I could live. There's a difference."

A sad, pitying laugh croaked out of the ghost. "Does this look like living to you? You're right, I died for you to  _ live _ . Not just survive,  _ live _ . THAT'S what you threw away." Sophie lamented. Her tone became hard as stone while her glare returned. "So why? Why couldn't you just let them be happy? Let yourself be happy? Sure, Clementine might be wrong, but that didn't mean she deserved to have her life ruined. Violet damn sure didn't deserve what you did to her-"

Minerva shoved the imaginary girl, though the world around her didn't seem to notice the scuffle. "I know that! Don't you fucking DARE say I don't!" The marauder growled, glaring down at her sister. She was barely resisting the urge to strike Sophie. "I know you know I didn't want any of this! If things went the way I wanted, we'd all be home together! You, me, Tenn, Violet, even Clementine, everyone would be at the Delta safe and sound. All they had to do was not fight, and everything would have been okay. Every goddamn time someone fights the Delta, people suffer for it."

Sophie scowled, bringing herself to her feet. "You feel good being the one hurting people like that… like that evil bitch hurt us?! Do you like that?!"

Her eyes went dead as the raider turned away from the hallucination. "... What I like or don't like hasn't mattered for years, Sophie. It's just what keeps me alive and what doesn't." She muttered, talking to herself as much as she was her delusion. She took another lungful of the frigid air that only seemed to highlight the aches and pains riddling her body. In truth, all her overworked brain wanted was to rest, but it would elude her no matter what. It was the curse of those determined to survive, no matter what it took from them or anyone else.

Sophie gave a tired and disappointed sigh. "You say this is for survival, Minnie, but it's going to kill you. We both know that." Her sister called out from behind. Minerva glanced backwards, seeing her deceased sibling staring at her with disillusioned eyes. She didn't bother refuting it and instead focused on making sure her aching legs didn't give out from under her. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the rumbling in her stomach as well. The Delta had left her spoiled to three proper meals a day. Even the school tended to have stew at least twice every morning and afternoon. Having to find and prepare their own food was part of her training, of course, but that hardly made it more welcome. At least she still had most of the day before night- "You're trying to get yourself killed so you don't have to deal with all this guilt, aren't you?"

"Do you ever shut up?!" Minerva hissed out. Her so-called 'conscience' had long since crossed the line from helpful to aggravating. Sophie's teasing and testing personality mixed with her own unhealthy thought process and subconscious criticisms of herself made for an absolute chore of a hallucination. The other girl chuckled a little, amused and somewhat lamentful at the same time.

"Depends, do you have a crossbow? That seemed to work last time."

The Delta deserter didn't dignify it with a response, instead just biting her tongue hard enough to taste copper. Left foot, right foot, basic movements that kept her mind off her tormentor. It would go away if she waited it out, she just had to stop taking the bait. "Minnie…" The girl prodded to no success. "Minnie… Minnie! C'mon, just listen!"

"Fuck. Off." She rumbled out, her nails starting to dig into her flesh from how tightly she was clenching her fists. 

"No, seriously, listen."

She was about to repeat her demand when a faint sound caught Minerva's ears. It was barely audible, nearly quiet enough that she wondered if she was imagining it. She turned to Sophie, a smug smirk adorning the latter's face. The raider walked in the direction of the sound, it steadily increasing in volume with each step. Sure enough, she eventually broke through the treeline to find herself at the shore of the river. Hmm. So she ended up going west at some point. Her eyes scanned along the shoreline mostly out of habit. The water rushed by with a low roar that lured the odd walker to their doom. It glinted orange in the early morning light. What caught her eye, however, was the dock stretching from the shore to about a sixth of the way across the river. Unlike most left in the world, the wear and tear on this structure seemed pretty minor. It was new, and there was only one group that had the supplies, means, and need to build a dock like this. Minerva's eyes widened as she realized that she had found herself back at Checkpoint November. It had been one of the lesser used of the Delta's various checkpoints throughout Virginia and D.C., mostly used to stash supplies for later collection. The Fitzgerald's deployment was an abnormality, in truth. They'd normally have sent a smaller ship to make the runs, but Lily's discovery of the school convinced high command to deploy them. It was darkly ironic that her self-assured mission was what led to Caul's demise, but that wasn't important right now. No, what mattered were the gears turning in Minerva's head at the moment. A couple scattered walkers slowly roamed further down the shore, but the place was seemingly abandoned. She'd heard the bomb even miles from shore, there was no question that the ship was destroyed. If that were the case, and the ship wasn't here, it had to be somewhere to the north. This far out, it was unlikely anyone had come to investigate the explosion… inspiration flashed through her mind. 

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Sophie's ghost asked rhetorically, her expression far less severe with the small smirk adorning it despite the irritation still residing in her tone. Minerva didn't respond. Sophie was in her head,  _ of course  _ she knew. Without another word, she turned left and began making her way upriver.

***

A throbbing pain in his leg was the first thing Louis noticed as he woke up bleary eyed. He let out a small hiss, grabbing the aching wound on instinct only to have it shoot pain through his body. Muttered curses flew out of his mouth through clenched teeth as he tried his best to keep quiet despite the pain. It was like someone had punched him really, really hard. Which, in a way, was completely accurate. He'd basically just gotten punched by a pinky finger at nearly seven hundred miles an hour. The musician slammed his eyes shut with a grunt. Awesome way to start the day. Shit, he couldn't walk like this. Vi's gonna have his ass for turning up late-

Reality hit him like a bus as the momentarily forgotten memories rushed back to him. Louis's eyes shot open on full alert with a gasp. A quick glance around revealed was still in the nurse's office if Ms. Martin's garishly upbeat posters were anything to go by. More importantly, however, were the two girls in the corner of the room by the door. Clementine was hunched over Violet's bed, her head resting on her hands that had encompassed the comatose blonde's own. Gentle snores and indecipherable murmurs escaped her lips, her brow furrowed in worry. Louis frowned at the bittersweet sight. He'd stayed with her as long as he could before Ruby officially deemed that he had to get off his injured leg before he made it worse. Of course, the redhead was nowhere to be seen at the moment, so… well. He wasn't willing to wake up Clementine, but staying here for hours while everyone was on edge and scared wasn't an option. Leader material or not, the least he could do was try to make things better. He bit his lip to keep from grunting out as he rose to his feet. Every other step was like getting stabbed by a needle much to his chagrin. The class clown walked as quietly as he could manage given his bum leg.

The musician took extra care while he passed his two best friends. He'd meant to just get out quick and quiet, but closer up, it was impossible to miss the light shivering rocking her body. He cocked an eyebrow. He hadn't noticed it before, but the chill of the cool morning air drifting through the window soon tickled against his ears as the breeze gently blew through. Louis glanced back at the sleeping students. Violet wasn't moving aside from the soft rise and fall of her chest, so at least she was fine with the blanket covering her. Her girlfriend was a pitiful sight in comparison, as odd as that might be with the former in a coma. Empathy bloomed in him. Ah, what the hell. His look wouldn't be complete without it, but clearly she needed it more than him. The pianist gently draped his coat over his dear friend, a small smile coming to him when her shudders became less and less apparent. She leaned closer to Violet with a small sleepy grunt and weakly tugged the coat further over her. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought her expression had softened a little. He sincerely hoped that had helped somehow. Even a small comfort he could provide was one she deserved to have after everything that had happened. Louis tiptoe away from the pair, paranoid that every step would be the one to disturb Clem's slumber, but he managed to reach the hallway without rousing her. He only let himself sigh once the door softly clicked closed, leaning his head against the door. It sucked. Everything about this situation did. But… nothing would be accomplished if he sat around like a puppy awaiting its owner's return. There was shit to do, and it wouldn't just twiddle its thumbs until Violet was back on her feet. He stepped away from the door with a grimace as his leg gave pains of protest, but continued walking down the hall all the same. He needed to meet with their visitors, sure, but he didn't need them to know just how weak they really were right now.  _ "Oh yeah guys, the real leader is in a coma, the vice head gardener is in the middle of a multi-week mental breakdown, and I'm just here because literally everyone else can't be… can I get 'immediate raid' for eight hundred, Alex?"  _ He grimly joked to himself. The suddenly promoted chairman shook his head as he walked down the halls. He just had to act natural, and have someone there to lie for him. They'd need an excuse as to why Violet was suddenly nowhere to be found, after all. Who in the school was the best liar, though? His skills had clearly rusted since breaking up his parent's marriage, and both Vi and Clem were out of the picture despite their knack for being able to lie when need be. Ruby had to focus on treating the previous two. Willie was Willie, so hell no. That left Tenn, Omar, and Aasim. Not exactly great picks, but out of all of them, Aasim was probably the safest bet. Okay, find Aasim and then cut a deal with Quickdraw McDickhead and Clem's buddy. Easy enough.

A brief stroll later and he found himself in the courtyard. It was early, the sun just barely creeping over the horizon and painting the sky an alluring purple. It'd be breathtaking if there weren't more important things going on right now. Well, that and the fact that he was freezing his ass off more and more with every passing second out there. He rubbed his arms in dismay, far too used to the protection his coat gave him to accept the cold. They'd probably see snowfall within a couple weeks at most at this rate. The realization brought mixed feelings to the dreadlocked leader. On the one hand, he loved winter. Snow, Christmas carols, having an excuse to make hot cocoa, he adored the  _ idea  _ of winter. Louis was far less fond of actually having the trudge through snow, being cold all the goddamn time, and possibly starving to death if they didn't get enough food. That much was enough to dampen even the strongest Christmas spirit. Speaking of starvation, though, he noticed Omar sitting alone at the fire pit. The others were nowhere in sight aside from Aasim atop the guard tower. While he was the jokster's main target, he decided to check in with their chef first. "Someone's up early," He announced his presence as he made his way to the other boy. Omar turned to him, the bruising on his neck a sickening shade of purple that made Louis wince. He dropped his somewhat playful tone for something more serious. "You doing alright?"

Omar shrugged a little with a frown. "Not terrible, I guess. Not real good either. Just… damn, man. Damn."

Louis nodded solemnly. "Yeah…" He trailed off. He didn't linger on it very long, wanting to fix it more than go down yet another rabbit hole of regret. He caught the cook's quickly hidden cringe when he breathed in a little too deep. Clearly Minerva left at least a bit of lasting damage. "Hey, just so you know, you can take today off if you need to. I'd give you the whole week free if we could afford it. Just don't push yourself too hard, alright? 'Cause otherwise I'm gonna take over for you. Chef King Louis has a ring to it, right?"

A faint smile came to the frizzle-haired teen as he crossed his arms. "No way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near my stews, man. You'd poison the whole school."

"Then make sure you take it easy!" Louis replied with a chuckle. He was grinning as he strolled towards the watchtower. It felt good making jokes again, even if the tension was still thick enough to taste in the air. He at least felt a little less like the miserable kid he showed up to this school as. He reached out to grab the ladder only to yank it back with a string of curses. He glared at the icy metal as he desperately rubbed his hands together. Okay, no, fuck winter. It'd been cool the last several days, but tolerable. Why the hell was it colder in the morning than it was last night? He vaguely recalled hearing an explanation for it in science class, but naturally he'd forgotten that while he could still do shit like recite the Krusty Krab Pizza song by heart. Priorities.

"Are you ever going to  _ not  _ grab things without thinking?" A familiar voice lectured from above. Aasim stated down at him with a mix of  _ very  _ slight amusement and a lot of annoyance, which was basically his default state around Louis. The last leader scoffed, shoving his hands close to him in a vain attempt to keep warm.  His firebug friend had dawned a scarf and gloves to deal with the sudden cold front enveloping the school. In truth, it probably wouldn't be so bad if he had more than a worn out polo shirt and tattered jeans (that, he just realized, now have a bullet hole in then as well) as protection. He shrugged at his old frenemy haplessly.

"Probably not. Any chance you're carrying spares in your pocket?" He asked. In truth, he knew the chance was one hundred percent. Aasim  _ always  _ carried spares of just about everything he needed. Maybe it was his scholarly personality, maybe it was some underlying mental tick, but it usually proved useful for the survivors of the school. The real question was the unsaid,  _ "Are you willing to give them to this dumbass?" _ . Aasim rolled his eyes, but did toss a pair down to Louis. Hurriedly pulling on the gloves, he climbed up the ladder to join him. Aasim had returned to surveying the woods, Louis opting to simply walk beside him to make conversation easier. Frankly, he wanted to avoid the heavy shit for at least a minute or two, so he started the conversation on something light. "Gotta say, you rock the scarf Aasim. Green's definitely your color… and a certain redhead's favorite, too. Trying to get someone's attention?" He teased with an increasingly wolfish grin. Aasim turned just enough to shoot him a withering glare.

"Really not in the mood, Louis. We can't just pretend last night didn't happen." The rationalist said evenly, refusing the obvious bait. Louis' face fell and he let out a sigh.

"I was hoping we could for a minute, but yeah, I guess you're right. Full disclosure: I need you to help bullshit these Richmond guys into working with us."

Aasim raised an eyebrow. "Clem knows them, and Violet cleared them. Why bother lying?"

"Because that was when they thought I was the weakest link here," He countered. Aasim started to open his mouth, prompting the pianist to quickly add, "Not finished. As far as they know, I'm easy pickings, but everyone else is solid. But if they found out Violet's… and that it happened because we kept Minerva around, suddenly, we're a bunch of cripples and kids just begging to get raided and looted." Louis explained as seriously as he could.

"... I don't disagree, but do you really think they're gonna be an enemy? We might make things worse by trying to keep them in the dark if they find out later."

"If they're really such cool guys, they'll get why we had to lie. Besides, the only one who could tell them would be Minerva, and I doubt she's feeling talkative right now." Louis waved off the concerns. Aasim broke eye contact, glancing away. "... Um… where  _ is  _ Minerva, by the way?"

Aasim sighed. "... I kicked her out. She's been gone since last night."

Oh, for god's sake. Louis looked straight at him with his jaw dropped. "DOUBLE UM. You just- what, dumped her outside the gates and shook your fist until she left?!"

"It wasn't just my call. Ruby's the one who brought it up."

Louis groaned with a facepalm. "And you just did it? No questions asked?"

Aasim scowled at him. "Come the fuck on, man. There was no way she could stay after that. It was my call to let her stay in the first place, and seeing where that got us, yeah, I decided to just trust Ruby on this. Most places would have just shot her for that."

Because why bother consulting your boss when you can just do whatever the hell you feel like, apparently? Well, shit. Minerva was officially in the wind now. Maybe she'd shoe back up with the Delta and wipe them all out, maybe she'd start a puppy orphanage for strays, maybe she was already dead and biting people. It's not like he'd get to know, anyway. Louis huffed in frustration. "Fine, sure, dangerous lunatic with a grudge is missing while almost half of us are crippled. Might as well squeeze in a little bit more bullshit to deal with… ugh. Let's just get this over with. Ready?"

Louis' longtime bunkmate rolled his eyes in clear disapproval, but still moved to follow him. He called out to Omar to take over for him as the pair made their way towards the basement. Louis fiddled with the chains they strapped around the basement doors, the closest thing they had to a lock thanks to Clementine. They were bulky and annoying, but they at least did the job. Despite all the noise that simply undoing the lock had made, Louis still made the effort to knock. "Hello?" The woman (Christa, was it?) called out.

He opened the double doors, the heavy metal hitting the ground with a groan. She stood at the bottom of the staircase looking up at them. First… well,  _ second  _ impressions were important, so Louis flashed her a smile. "Morning… Christa, right?" He gambled, relieved when she nodded. He held out a hand as he took a couple steps down the stairs. "I don't think we met each other properly, with the whole hostage situation and all. I'm Louis. I help run this place. Supposedly, anyway."

A flash of guilt appeared and disappeared from her features in an instant. She hesitantly shook his hand, gaze somewhat suspicious. "You're pretty upbeat, seeing as how we put a bullet in you less than a day ago." She pointed out. Louis gave an amused scoff as he realized how off putting that positivity must seem. He waved it off as he explained.

"Well, I'm alive, so I'd say it worked out pretty well. I'll just consider us even for shooting your guy. Speaking of your guys, though, we were thinking we should sit down and get some sort of trade deal worked out. Interested?"

Christa crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Kinda figured Violet would wanna be here for that. Where is she?"

Louis tried not to wince, forcing a smile to remain on his lips despite the sorrow of the truth. He was grateful beyond words when Aasim noticed his cue and quickly elaborated. "You might have noticed that she's not exactly a people person. She left negotiating to Louis and I," The former firebug stated as casually as he could. It actually sounded pretty convincing to the musician's ears. After all, it was mostly rooted in truth. "We'll be running things by her and see if we're good to go."

Christa seemed to scrutinize the statements for a moment before giving a nod. "... Alright. We going up, or are you coming down?"

They  _ could  _ do it in the office, but from the state Violet was in, chances were it was a mess. A trashed office full of bloodstains would probably make even less attentive people suspicious. Going down to them kinda signaled power to them, which could be good or bad depending on how far they ran with it. Knowing Violet, she'd probably been antagonistic towards their oh-so lovely guests, so maybe a move like that would be,good for establishing some trust? Going by that logic, Louis decided on the latter. The pair followed her deeper into the basement to find a characteristically grouchy David glowering at them and the well dressed guy he had deemed Suity McFancy practically cocooned in three different blankets. He smirked at the guy that was barely older than him. Finally, a kindred spirit. The trio had made a sort of living room (Suity's suggestion, no doubt), their cots set up in the corner of the room while some of the old chairs from the back served as the furniture. David gave a nod of acknowledgement to him as he spoke. "Didn't expect to see you again. Glad to be proven wrong." The Richmond militant greeted. 

Huh. How unexpectedly polite. Louis gave a little salute back as he replied. "Defying expectations is my specialty. That's probably most of us are at this school, actually," He  quipped as he grabbed a chair of his own. "But you're probably not here for my stand up routine, so let's talk shop. We're interested in trade. What are you guys in the market for?"

"Information and ammo, the two best weapons in the world," Jack stated matter of factly. He leaned in as his gone grew more serious. "You see, someone's been taking out a lot of a caravans down here in recent times. We'd like to know what if anything you know about them, and some bullets to put in them when their luck runs out. Any of that ringing bells?"

"How recent are these? Depending on that, we might've beaten you to the punch."

David was the one to respond this time. "The past month and a half, roughly. We started making our way down here two weeks ago. Why?"

Louis gave a light laugh. "That actually really works out. Two weeks ago, we blew up one of the Delta's boats. Sounds like we dealt with them for you. We also happened to steal a good chunk of their supplies while we were at it, so we can arrange something with that."

The soldier didn't look convinced. "A bunch of kids in the woods took on a ship full of armed and trained adults and won? Got any proof of that?" He skeptically declared. Louis crossed his arms, half out of annoyance and half because the basement was pretty chilly.

"How about the fact that we're talking right now? I doubt Walker Louis would be half as charming as the real thing." The comedian argued. David looked like he was about to retort when Aasim spoke up.

"My friends and I spent three days locked up by those bastards. Trust me when I say we gave them what they deserved." The usually level headed survivor said forcefully. Louis was a bit taken aback by the gravity he spoke the words with. They'd been so focused on Clementine and Minerva these past couple weeks that it didn't occur to him what kind of effect their capture might of had on Aasim and Omar. He made a mental note to try finding out about it when they were in more familiar company. 

Christa nodded in agreement. "I believe them, David. I saw the proof with my own eyes." The older woman defended. Louis tried not to frown when it occurred to him what exactly that proof was. Or, rather,  _ who _ . It had been damming enough when he'd only known Clem for a couple of weeks, and only liked her for about half of that time. For someone that knew her basically from the start to find out… his sympathy for the woman went up tremendously. The oldest among them shook his head, the action serving to draw further emphasis to the nasty scar barely covered by his collar.

"Maybe, but they aren't telling us everything. I want you to be straight with us here if you expect us to trust you."

"What are you-"

"Don't play dumb, kid. Be honest."

David's scrutinizing gaze was far from a welcome one, Louis putting all his effort into not mocking the man's dickish attitude. He'd play nice to make things work for the group, but  _ god  _ was this guy a hardass. Biting back his wit with a shrug, Louis simply replied, "Trust me, I'm not playing dumb, I just am. I have zero clue what you're talking about."

The still unnamed third member of Richmond's strike team looked intrigued, though any menacing effect it might have had was nullified by his blanket fortress. "What are you talking about, chief?"

"Want me to spell it out for you? Fine. I think there's something you don't want us to know. A number of things, actually. Let's start simple. Who was that girl last night?" David turned his focus to Aasim. Gears spun in Louis' head for a moment before he dreadfully realized that one of the worst case scenarios had come to pass. That posed a MASSIVE problem, because this was something they couldn't completely lie their way out of. He saw Minerva with his own eyes. The other two were asking their own follow up questions to David, but Louis was trying to figure out an answer that would be satisfactory while still keeping things vague.

"... She…" He sighed. Fuck it. The most convincingly lie was the truth, right? "She was a friend of ours, once. About a year ago, our old leader Marlon pawned her and her sister off to the Delta to save his own skin. Thought he was protecting us… but he wasn't. We kidnapped her back the night we destroyed their boat. Had all these plans of bringing her back into the person we knew, you know? But she was too far gone. She killed her sister and betrayed us again and again. She…-"

"She's the one who did this to Clementine, isn't she?" Christa pieced together, her eyes dark. He slowly nodded in confirmation. "... That's probably why Violet isn't here right now, too. Right?"

The pitiful remains of Louis' fake grin fell to pieces, a solemn look overtaking his usually jovial features. He was about to force himself to explain when Aasim mercifully tagged in.

"Last night, she pushed her luck too far, and someone ended up hurt for it. We had enough and kicked her out. Is that enough?" The scholarly survivor argued.

David kept quiet for a moment. Ultimately, though, he inclined his head in conceit. "I know a thing or two about having friends doing unforgivable things. I get why you lied. Hell, I would too if I got dealt your hand. But from here on out, if we want this to work, we need to trust each other. I'm willing to start over if you are. Deal?"

Louis couldn't hide his surprise at the offer. Who would have expected General Jerkass himself to be the one extending an olive branch? Still, after all these years, he'd learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth. A small smile came to him as he sat up in his chair and held out his hand. "Best deal I've heard in a while."

Maybe he could still salvage something out of all these mistakes.

***

The Fitzgerald, or what was left of it, stood like the skeleton of a goliath amongst the shore. Twisted metal, painted black by the unforgiving flames of Ericson's vengeance, were splayed out from the epicenter of the explosion. It had completely fallen on its side as well, almost looking like someone had simply rotated it by ninety degrees before shoving their fist through it. Minerva closed her eyes. That boat had been the one that ripped her from her home… but it had also  _ become  _ her home, in a way. She was deployed so often that her bunk felt more homey than the makeshift apartment she had in the Delta itself. Despite the circumstances, most of the crew had even become friends of a sort. A frown pulled at her lips as she noticed some of the walkers wearing shreds of their uniforms, most of their features either burnt beyond recognition or bitten off. She had no delusions that they'd somehow been spared in the chaos, but it was an unfortunate truth to have confirmed. Minerva shook her head. Worrying over dead men wouldn't get her anywhere. Turning her attention back to the wreck of the Fitzgerald, her lips thinned. 

The once proud vessel was now little more than a pile of untapped scrap and salvage, a gold mine just waiting to be looted. Of course, there was a good reason  _ why  _ it hadn't been wiped clean yet: her former friends were just some of the dozens of walkers swarming around the ruins of the ship. At a glance, she counted at least forty of the bastards shambling about and blocking off access to her prize. Chances were most of the ship's supplies were still aboard. Guns, ammo, food, clean water… with luck and some effort, the wreck could probably be turned into a shelter, at least for a little while. It would give her a task to get this damned guilt off her mind for a while at least. Of course, the herd that circled it likes an army of ravenous vultures posed a massive obstacle to her grand plan. A group this size would have been concerning even when she was with the Delta, fully armed and able. Now, while she was alone, weaponless, and in a smothering mental fog of guilt? Well, she'd either succeed and thrive or fail and die. In that regard, nothing had changed since the Delta.

The more important question than if she could was  _ how _ . Taking out the walkers was beyond impossible. She'd be better off drowning herself in the river right now than trying that. Still, she needed them out of the way if she had any hope of getting to the boat in one piece. Her eyes scanned around the wreckage of the boat to see if there was anything of use not surrounded by a wall of the dead. There unfortunately weren't any boxes or barrels conveniently within safe distance, making her lips thin in annoyance. It would be a hell of a lot simpler if she just had a gun. Then it would just be a matter of herding them towards the sound while she slipped off and raided the boat. Hell, even a bell would do. She was so focused on the herd up ahead that she  _ almost  _ didn't notice the quiet footsteps behind her. Minerva spun around swinging, her right hand being caught halfway through. However, her left successfully followed through into a gut punch that winded the attacker. She went for a cheap kick to his face only to feel a strong grip tug her leg to the ground. She hit the soil and mud with a thud, sending more pains to accompany the dull ones. A foot pressed against her back warningly, but the voice that accompanied it was unexpectedly gentle. "I don't mean any harm. Please, stop this." He rumbled. That voice was vaguely familiar to her, but that didn't keep her from struggling under his boot, trying her best to break his leg from her position. It proved to be in vain, her attacker even stronger than the remarkably fit soldier. She took deep and even breaths in an attempt to steady herself.

"What do you want?" She demanded through clenched teeth. To her surprise, the pressure keeping her pinned to the floor subsided, a quick glance revealing his outstretched hand.

James stood before her, looking down at her compassionately. It might have even been somewhat comforting if it weren't for the mask of human flesh he hid himself behind. His response was as simple as it was honest. "To help." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the final vote tally ended up going for Option A, which means the word limit is now much easier on me. While this affects the bottom line for wordcount, I promise I'll do my best to turn in full 6k word length chapters whenever I find the motivation and time to do so! I struggled to write this for most of the week, but found a sudden burst of creative energy today!


	22. Thinking Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine tries to deal with Violet's comatose state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be another Minerva chapter until I realized there was no fucking way I could do that scene justice with only one day of writing left before the deadline. So look forward to that next chapter!

_ "You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough... 'cause there's nowhere else you can go where it ain't. _

_ Tough is all we got, now. Get that through your fucking skulls." _

Warmth. It was something so common that it was easy to ignore until it was actually gone, low quickly a person could go from trying to beat the summer heat to begging for it when the cooler months rolled around, or the disappointment of eating a cold meal. Clementine had learned to put up with both of those things years ago, so much so that it still felt a little weird to have Omar's stews warming her stomach after dinner. What she could never have prepared herself for, though, was how cold Violet's hand felt against her own. It was just so…  _ wrong _ . The same lukewarm hand she was holding now had once been as fiery and strong as her girlfriend's personality, had comforted and guided the blind brunette when she couldn't see the path forward. Her tight embraces, the surprisingly delicate and loving touches… Violet was a light in the darkness. An anchor that kept Clementine tethered to who she'd been before everything went so wrong. Her best friend and first real love… and now, the blonde's tender whispers, good natured sarcasm and fierce temper had fallen away to suffocating silence.

Clem drew herself closer to Violet's comatose form in a groggy haze. She was conscious enough to seek/provide comfort in the leader of the school, but too tired to bother wondering where anyone else was or care about the uncomfortable stiffness in her back from sleeping in such an awkward position. AJ would need her soon, she recognized one some level, and she'd be there for him when he did. He would  _ always  _ be her top priority. Until that came to pass, though, she wanted nothing but to lay there in peace with Violet on the slim chance she came to this early. She'd be damned if she let Violet wake up scared, alone and in pain like she herself had on that boat just a couple weeks prior. No one deserved that. Well…  _ almost  _ no one. That sickening anger simmered in her at the thought and began burning away st the comforting haze of sleep. All her suffering because of that cold hearted bitch… her mistakes might have let all of this happen, but at the core, Minerva was still the one pulling the trigger.  A bitter taste filled her mouth. She  _ wanted  _ to be angry… yet… the more she tried to focus on that fury, the more it seemed to morph into something suffocating and sinister that was edging over her. Clementine could still feel it swirling in her gut, but it was like trying to listen to music while underwater; distorted and incomprehensible. Her breathing hitched as a pit formed in her, an undeniable wave of icy dread washing over her in an instant.

Confusion was the first thing to occur to Clementine. Why did she feel so afraid all of the sudden? She was in the school among friends and without any dangerous company. For someone of her condition, that was the best thing she could ever hope for. And yet, there was that tingling up her spine that warned of danger all the same. Her heart rate pick up as that confusion fed into the worry bubbling in her. It felt as if she were an empty shell, the lack of rage or sorrow or any meaningful feeling except a growing fear serving to make her heart race and bones ache more and more with each passing second.  More than anything though, it made her feel sick and exhausted. Pain flared in her chest, the girl hissing out in surprise and anguish at the sudden convulsion. The beating of her heart got louder and faster. The traumatized teenager felt faint as a panicked unconsciousness tried pulling at her mind. In truth, Clem was inclined to let it take her simply to escape this hellish anxiety consuming her at that moment. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the fear of never waking up if she let herself succumb to it. Fuck, fuck, no, she couldn't let herself lose control! Not again! 

She took the other girl by the wrist as gingerly as she could given her panicked state, trying to focus on the soft thumping of Violet's heartbeat.  _ Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump _ … just like that, slow and easy. She could do that. She synched her breathing up with it as best she could, exhaling every other beat. In… out. In… out. Her efforts didn't seem to pay off much as her own heart remained a frantic drum in her ears compared to the comatose commander. Clementine grit her teeth and clamped her eyelids shut.  _ "You've gotten through worse,"  _ She sternly reminded herself.  _ "This isn't real. This fear is bullshit, Clementine! You know real fear! Don't lose control…"  _ The thoughts looped in her head in an attempt to maintain control. A part of her recognized that it was just an anxiety attack. That knowledge should have been a sort of comfort, but she absolutely  _ despised  _ it. She despised feeling like she was slowly dying bit by bit when she knew she was fine. Relatively, anyway. The fact that she'd been brave enough to fight an army less than a month ago and now found herself rendered completely helpless by even just a few errant words was infuriatingly humiliating. She prayed that no one would find her like this. A pity party was the absolute  _ last  _ thing she wanted right now. God damn it, she spent eight long years in the apocalypse, she should be stronger than this! Lee didn't die so she could cry herself to sleep like a scared little girl!

Clem sucked in breaths through her clenched teeth. That was right. She had to be strong, to prove that Lee's and everyone else's deaths meant something. Both death and despair meant failure, and she refused to fail any of them ever again. Violet didn't risk her life just for Clem to wallow in terror and regret. They all wanted Clementine to live, for better or worse, and so that was exactly what she would do. Her breathing began to even out as she clung to that determination. Clementine Crawman will live, and live to the fullest. She  _ will  _ be with Violet again. She  _ will  _ have a long and happy life here with the most important people in her world. All she needed to do was calm down and breathe.

Cool air filled her lungs, the chill a calming sensation that she forced herself to focus on. It almost burned, but it was consistent and even. That sort of stability was exactly what she needed right now. She could feel the hammering in her chest starting to slow down more and more with every breath. Seconds, minutes, hours, even decades could have passed and she wouldn't have noticed. "You're safe, Clementine. The only thing that can hurt you here is yourself," She whispered quietly, wanting to hear the words aloud. Clem bowed her head with a deep sigh. Fucking panic attacks. She gently moved her grasp from Violet's wrist to holding her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. What she wouldn't do just to talk with her for five minutes… actually… she wouldn't get a response, but she could at least talk  _ at  _ her, right? Was that weird? Hell, even if it was, when was the last time she'd ever been normal? She opened her mouth and just let the words tumble forward. "... I'm okay, Violet. I promise. I don't think I'm ready to be without you. Nobody ever really is, right? But… I'm not giving up. If-  _ when  _ you wake up, we'll be here for you.  Me, AJ, Louis, you'll see all of us again. I mean, you saved me. More than once. It's the least I could do for my girlfriend," She rambled. It felt odd to actually call Violet that. Odd… but good. Really good, actually. A shaky small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she continued. "I can't thank you enough for everything. You gave me and AJ a home, friends… love… I'll pay you back for all of it some day. I promise. You can kick my ass if I don't." She joked with a tiny chuckle. It was like a weight slowly being lifted off of her, the air in her lungs feeling warmer and more plentiful. Not even the lack of response kept the growing sensation of resolve from her. What was it Louis always said? The only guarantee is this moment? Well, at that moment, Clementine was determined to make her dreams of the future a reality. Nothing and no one would stop her.

She'd kiss Violet if she could see what she was doing and make sure she wasn't hurting her. Alas, considering how delicate her condition was, Clementine didn't dare to risk making things worse. She instead settled for planting one on the back of the blonde's hand. "I love you, Violet. I'll keep waiting for you until you say it back. If you heard any of this somehow-" The creak of a door ripped her from her distracted state, the blind brunette snapping to attention. "Hello?" She called out wearily, her left hand clenching into a fist in preparation. She'd lose the fight if that's what it came to, but like hell would she die without standing her ground after everything else she'd endured. 

"Clem?" A small voice called out. The girl in question let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as relief drowned out the last threads of panic in her. Tiny footsteps made their way to her, the girl holding out a hand. She pulled AJ into a close hug, grateful for his pretense. He returned it, his small hands barely managing to meet behind her back. "Omar told me what happened…" AJ murmured sadly. Clem didn't bother responding, only bowing her head in acknowledgement. She pulled him a little closer. "Is Violet going to be okay?"

_ "We don't know,"  _ Was her knee-jerk response. It was accurate, after all. Cynicism had long since overtaken the innocent optimism she'd had all those years ago. Being realistic was how she'd stayed sane for so long. Her mouth opened to say as much, but she found herself hesitating. What happened to that determination from earlier? She promised Violet she wasn't giving up, right? That included not giving up on her. The sightless survivor gave a nod. "... Yeah. Yeah, I think she will."

He gave a little nod against her. "I think so, too. She's tough." AJ praised, sounding a little more assured. The two sat in the semi-comfortable silence for a time, neither feeling the need to fill the air with pointless words. Just having him there was enough to bring her peace. A part of her felt guilty that he had to be the one comforting her so much these days rather than the other way around, but she couldn't pretend that she wasn't eternally thankful for the sweet little boy. So many times she'd worried she'd gone wrong, only for his good heart to once again shine through the grime of the world he was born into. Feeling his head resting against her shoulder was the best feeling in the world to her; to have her child with her, safe and sound. A soft knock sounded at the door before it clicked open. She felt AJ shift in her hold, probably checking to see who the new arrival was. "Hi, Ruby." He greeted. Clem turned to face her, more for the doctor's sake than hers, the girl giving a respectful nod in her direction. She was glad to have her friend there, make no mistake, but it was hard to muster up nearly as much energy for her compared to AJ given the circumstances. She hoped Ruby understood.

"Mornin', guys," The school's medic returned the welcome, though tiredness was evident in her voice. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted over to Clementine soon after. Sympathy for the country gal warmed in her, all too familiar with sleepless nights leading directly into busy mornings. She heard a couple footsteps before they came to a sudden stop. "Wait… where in'th'hell'd Louis go?"

His absence hadn't actually occurred to Clementine until it was pointed out. She knew it on some level; the musician would doubtlessly have tried to help her through her panic attack if he'd been around to witness it. Though come to think of it, there was an unfamiliar weight on her back, a quick touch revealing smooth and somewhat soft leather. She smiled a little at the realization of his gift, making a mental note to thank him for it when she got the chance. "I haven't seen him," Clem answered out of habit. She couldn't keep herself from frowning when she realized what exactly she'd said. "I- damn it. You know what I mean."

"He wasn't here when I came." AJ confirmed, mercifully changing the focus to him. 

A growl emanated from Ruby's direction. "God damned idiot's gonna bust his leg fer good at this rate…" The redhead muttered angrily. A cross between a sigh and a grunt escaped her as her footsteps around the room resumed. "AJ, couldja do me a favor and tell Louis to get his ass back in here 'fore Ah blow a gasket if ya find'em?"

"What's a gasket?" He innocently questioned, his naivety drawing a paper thin smile out of Clementine.

"Ah dunno actually. Think it has t'do with engines er'somethin'. Point bein' Ah'm gonna be real pissed off if he managed to hurt himself worse with all this walkin' around." Ruby called back over the clatter of moving tools and medicine boxes. The ruckus could almost be considered musical if not for the lack of organized movements, making it sound more like a one man band falling down the stairs than anything resembling a song. The various drawers and cupboards finally stopped their dance as Ruby seemed to finally find what she was looking for. Clementine could feel Ruby's gaze on her, a somewhat unnerving sensation. Like she was being observed through a microscope as someone experimented with it. At last, the silence broke. "... Alrighty now. Ah'm gonna be honest here, Clem, an' Ah don't mean t'upset you with it, but Ah think'd be best if you stepped out fer a bit."

Well, that explains what the weird look was for. Figures she was trying to predict Clem's reaction. If that were the case, she probably predicted the scowl that overtook her features. "Why?" She asked curtly, though she tried to keep as much venom from her voice as she could. The doctor was only trying to help, after all. The sigh that followed had an edge of pity to it that was far from welcomed.

"Well… two big reasons. First, Ah need to move Vi around fer a bit to keep her muscles from wastin' away and such," She explained. Clementine was about to insist that she could help with that until the other girl's words from just a few short hours prior rang in her head.  _ "Yer only gonna be in the way" _ . It had been true then, and it was likely true now. Her help likely wouldn't be wanted even if she weren't blind considering their relationship. With that in mind, she quietly let her friend continue. "Second… aw, hell, I can't sugarcoat it. It ain't healthy for you to stay here twenty-four seven, Clem. Not physically, not mentally, and 'specially not emotionally."

Spite shot up in Clem in an instant. She couldn't hide the annoyance from her expression or voice, though the desire to do so was dwindling as well. "Do you know what it's like to wake up after thinking for sure that you were going to die? To wake up to that  _ alone _ ?! I won't abandon her, Ruby. Who gives a damn if it's healthy for me to stay or not?! I can't let her go through th-!"

"Clem," AJ interrupted her increasingly unstable rant, squeezing her hand to draw her attention. She looked at where he should have been - where she should have been able to  _ see  _ the face of her child, before the cruel machinations of fate stole that simple pleasure from her. Before she could dwell too long on that, however, he dropped a bombshell on her. "I… I think she's right. I don't really know about that hell-thee-nis stuff, but I know you're really, really sad. You've been sad for a while now, too. I dunno if I can make it better, but you said I always have to try," He spoke the words with growing confidence that ended up a self-assured determination by the time he reached the end of his explanation. "So… I wanna help you, but I don't know how. But maybe we could figure it out with everyone else?"

Clementine was stunned. On the one hand, she was beyond proud at the maturity AJ was demonstrating. For someone who'd largely had to rely on himself and her for his entire life, the fact that he saw the value of accepting help was something spoke wonders to how far he'd come from the suspicious and distrusting boy he'd been just a few weeks prior. On the other hand, there were no words to describe how humiliating it was for AJ to recognize her weakness. He'd always been there for her when things started to take their toll on her, but she could always hide just how deeply things were wrong. At the very least, he never drew attention to it passed giving her comfort and support. Now, however, the mask was completely shattered. His strong and fearless protector was gone. All that was left was a terrified and broken kid clinging onto her old bravado for dear life and they both knew it. Her lips thinned as uncertainty took over. On some level, they were probably right. Maybe she was making the same mistake she made when Lee died; focusing too much on loss and guilt to consider the ones trying to help her. It's not like she didn't appreciate them for it, but… this was different, wasn't it? Violet wasn't dead. She could still wake up. When she did, the blind brunette wanted her face to be the first thing Violet saw, something to assure her that everything's alright. What if she were out when the blonde awoke? Or… what if she never did? What if she died in her sleep and turned? Just disappeared forever without her even being there to say goodbye? She could never forgive herself if that happened. She couldn't write off the possibility no matter how much she didn't want it to be real.

"Please, Clem? You always made me happy when I felt bad. It's not fair if I don't help you back. I wanna make things better so you can be happy again. Can you help me help you?" Her son pleaded, his voice heavy with worry. Clementine couldn't help but feel guilty hearing the words. Did it really mean that much to him? She didn't want him to bear such a heavy burden on his shoulders, but she knew first hand that it wasn't just the sort of thing that you could let go of. Her mental state shouldn't be something someone so young should even think about, yet here he was, practically begging her to seek help. Her finger idly traced over Violet's palm while she weighed her options. Despite her fear and worry about what could happen if she weren't with Violet, she wasn't bli-  _ ignorant  _ to the key word there:  _ if _ . Every reason she had for staying was based on conjecture and fear of things that might never happen. She'd always taken great care to be pragmatic and realistic about life while she was out on the road. That had been lost in the blur of mood swings and slow adjustment that her life had become since that goddamned ship, her usually grounded thoughts constantly tossed between foolish amounts of optimism and depression-induced nihilism. She'd let her once prided rationality be tossed to the wayside, but the young woman refused to let herself keep spinning out of control. It was about time she finally took control of her life again. Hell, that's what Kenny would probably say if he were still here with her. Friends she could rely on… that had been a dream of hers for so long, and now she had it. All she had to do was embrace them. With that in mind, she gave her answer. "... Okay," She said quietly, giving a small nod. "I'll do it."

"Yer doin' the right thing here. Ah promise you, she'll be safe with me." Ruby said presumably with a smile. AJ said something, though she wasn't fully focused on what. He moved out of her embrace and waited for her, his footsteps stopping soon after they began. Clementine took a deep breath as she psyched herself up for what came next. Talking with the others would be easy enough, all things considered. Leaving Violet, though? She had to do it, there was no debating that anymore. It was just difficult to actually go through with it. 

_ "Come on, it's not forever. Get a hold of yourself, damn it,"  _ She scolded herself, annoyed with her own hesitation. Clinging onto her like a stray puppy wasn't doing either of them any good.  _ "Ruby's here. She won't be alone. You're no good to her crazy or exhausted. Just have a bit of faith." _

"Ready Clem?" AJ's slightly hopeful voice asked. No more putting it off, it seemed.

Clementine slowly let Violet slip from her grasp, gently setting her hand back down on the bed. Having said her peace and found a new sense of determination, the blind brunette rose from her bed, biting her tongue to keep from groaning in discomfort as her back protested after so many hours at an awkward position. She gave a slow nod. "... Yeah. I'm ready."

Time to live up to her promise.

***

Being dead felt  _ weird _ . Violet wasn't exactly sure what to expect, in truth. She'd never been the type to picture herself arriving at the pearly gates or surrounded by fire and brimstone, but she figured there was probably something. Anything, really. Perhaps her greatest fear was waking up again as a walker; a prisoner in her own mind that would be forced to watch herself rot away and rip people to shreds until either she went crazy or someone had the decency to kill her a second time. The latter was fortunately not the case, as far as she could tell. There were no visions of death or destruction playing out before her eyes. In fact, there was nothing at all. 

Pure darkness surrounded her for miles, not able to see even an inch past her own eyes if that. That would've been bad enough on its own if it weren't for the sensation that she was falling. The closest point of reference Violet had to describe the feeling was the time Grandma and Grandpa had brought her to the county fair and she snuck onto the roller coaster. That moment when the train  _ just  _ peeked over the rails and started plummeting down, that frightening but addicting feeling of weightlessness as she got pulled downwards at a hundred miles an hour… on the ride, it didn't last more than ten or so seconds at the most at one time. Here, however, it was like her entire existence had been spent in that moment of freefall. It had been terrifying when she first realized it (though it was impossible to tell how long it'd been since then), but it had slowly converted from scary as shit to mildly disconcerting. A part of her wondered if this is what Clementine felt like every single day. God, she hoped not. This endless pitch-black nosedive was absolutely hellish. The idea that her girlfriend might've been enduring this for weeks now was enough to make her stomach churn.

Wait, did that mean she was in hell? It definitely didn't look like hell. The Bible talked about a lake of fire and all that shit, but you'd think something like that would be pretty hard to miss. Besides, was she really bad enough to go to hell? She wouldn't really call herself a good person, but she wasn't a total asshole either. She tended to do right by people when she could.  _ "If I'm going to hell because I swore too much, I'm gonna kick someone's ass,"  _ She grumbled to herself half jokingly. She hadn't really cared about religion in life, what with the world ending and all, but the idea of  _ actually going to hell _ was undeniably intimidating to her. Dying had been bad enough. Did she really have to spend the rest of eternity in what basically amounted to a time-out corner? After all, she was bound to be dead, right? She'd gotten stabbed in the throat for crying out loud. Short of having walkers chomp her to bits or getting her brains blown out, that was about as dead as it got. Yet if she  _ were _ dead, it definitely didn't feel nearly as painful as she expected or as nice as she had quietly hoped for. The ache in her throat and knee were proof enough that injuries clearly carried over to the other side at any rate. 

Violet simply continued her freefall in the void. She couldn't tell for certain, but she was pretty sure she'd been dipping in and out of unconsciousness as time dragged on. At times, it was almost like she could hear her friend's voices, but that couldn't have been the case. There's no way all of them had died too, so the blonde chalked it up to her mind playing tricks on her. She'd tried screaming when she first found herself in this place to no avail, her mouth feeling like it had been sealed shut with cement. Her limbs were similarly uncooperative. Trying to move her neck had proved to be fruitless, thought that was a bit more expected considering how she wound up here in the first place. It was beyond infuriating to the blonde. Fuck all to look at, fuck all to do, and she didn't even have the benefit of being unconscious for it. Yeah, this was definitely hell. She would've sighed if she could. So much for that whole paradise Tenn was always talking about. Though, come to think of it, maybe this was purgatory? She'd kinda glossed over that part in Sunday school. That would explain the lack of hell-like qualities at least. So she was dead, but not bad enough to get kicked out of heaven. That boded a little better for her.  _ "Guess Grandma was right after all,"  _ The (former) leader of Ericson's mused. Well, she was pretty bad at being Catholic, but it seems like things turned out pretty alright despite that. Seems not being a total shitbag paid off. God knows how long she'd be stuck here, though.

With her motor control clearly gone to shit and a seemingly infinite amount of time on her hands, pretty much all she could do was reflect on things. The first thing to come to mind was Clementine as always. She might have only known Clementine for a little over a month, as hard as that was to wrap her head around, but she was the first person in quite some time to truly let her feel alive. Kinda fitting in a fucked up way that she died for the person that made life worthwhile, but Violet didn't like to think along those lines. Life was life, not some story for people to pick apart and appreciate the sick ironies of it. Regardless, she went out protecting someone she cared about. That's about the best she could've asked for in a world like this. As much as their talk in the greenhouse sucked to actually have, she was glad they did. The fact that she could have perished without ever telling Clementine exactly how much she meant to her was heartbreaking. Of course, that probably meant the softhearted survivor would be even more devastated than she would have been otherwise. She'd been absolutely broken when Minnie 'died'. Her girlfriend didn't deserve to go through that kind of suffering. At least she had AJ there for her. Violet was basically alone after the twins' disappearance, despite Louis' best efforts. Having an anchor like AJ would probably soften the blow a little. Between him and Louis, she might even be able to find happiness again. If that was the case, Violet could go in relative peace, at least on that account. 

Less okay was the way she ended things with Louis. The blonde hadn't forgiven him even now. What he'd done to her and Clem intentionally or not was beyond fucked. Despite that, though, she regretted that they'd never get the chance to at least try working it out. He was really the best friend she'd ever had. For better or worse, that lovable dumbass was with her through thick and thin. His awful jokes and eye-roll worthy pickup lines had always been appreciated at least in intent. They shouldn't have left hating each other after so many years of friendship… well, that wasn't completely true. Louis didn't have a hateful bone in his body. No, she might have left hating him, but he would be the one that would have to deal with her last words to him being filled with pure spite and loathing. It was just one of the biggest on the pile of far, far too many mistakes she'd never get to rectify, a fact that absolutely killed her. Wait… damn it, even in death, his shitty puns were still infecting her mind. Maybe she'd get the chance to apologize some day.

Thoughts of this sort distracted her for quite some time. Minnie, Sophie, Tenn, Ruby, Aasim, Omar, Willie, her grandparents, everyone she'd ever cared about were all ruminated on, sometimes more than once. It was a welcome distraction to think about her friends rather than where she was right now or would end up at by the time it was over.  They were everything to her even though she'd never admit it to them. Thinking of them made the grim nature of her situation less frightening.

Violet might've been dead, but she was alive inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is in sight! Well, for everyone but Clementine, anyway. By my calculations, the story should be done in another 6 or 7 chapters. 
> 
> So, with the story starting to enter its last updates, I wanted tk float another concept by you guys: a one-shot where Clem ended up with Louis instead of Violet, and subsequently seeing what would have happened if a romanced Louis found Clem blind on the boat. Would that interest you guys as a sort of last hurrah for this AU after the main story finishes?


	23. Starting Anew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva raids the boat. Clementine tries to find a new normal again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got really into this one, so have an 8k word update!

_ "Yeah, but - you're the only mama he's got. Protective, loving, caring...  _

_ All the things a good parent needs to be and all at your age.  _

_ But parenthood is a hell of a motivator though, that's for sure. That kinda of love…" _

Minerva's eyes narrowed in hate and distrust at the mysterious man as she quickly scurried back. Wanted to help? What a load of bullshit. "Just walk away. You don't have to die today." The raider warned curtly. Her body was tense as adrenaline rushed through her veins in preparation for a fight. She  _ needed  _ this stash. Otherwise, she was as good as dead. If she had to gut James to get to it, so be it. What was one more body on the pile?

"Uh, maybe  _ don't  _ kill the one guy left on the planet willing to help you out?" Sophie suggested, apparently back yet again. Minerva refused to take her gaze off of the man who could barely be considered an acquaintance, her steely eyes sharper than any knife. "Remember that whole spiel about you trying to kill yourself? This is part of it. Violet and Louis trusted him. Maybe he's not as weird and creepy as he looks. We should try actually talking to him like a  _ non _ -psycho would."

The redhead ignored her deceased delusion's prattling. She focused instead on James' movements and body language, the slightly older man carrying himself defensively but with a sort of patience that made her want to shove a knife in him for his condescension. Of course, shoving knives in people that said they wanted to help was what got her into this mess in the first place, wasn't it? She perished the thought. Regrets later, action now. Anything less would leave her yet another nameless corpse in the crowd. His hand was still waiting for her own, a cautious yet hopeful look on his face. "I had the same thoughts, once. I was too forceful when I offered help before, but I cannot allow you to get hurt."

"Why?" She questioned. He was either trying to take advantage of her or was an even bigger fool than her former friends. A frown shifted his mask, barely visible through the small mouth-hole cut into the skin.

"Because you have a soul. That alone makes you worth protecting."

Minerva didn't know whether to laugh in his face or put him out of both their misery. A pacifist Whisperer was laughable on its own. Yet another self-righteous moron thinking they could 'save' her from herself was somewhere between pitiable and infuriating. How could someone that suicidally stupid make it this long in the apocalypse? "If you knew anything about me, you'd know we'll both be better off without you trying to help. Leave."

No one could say she didn't try to warn him, but he ignored her threats all the same. "I won't let you chase after death… nor can I allow you to harm them."

"Them?" Both Minerva and Sophie questioned at the same time. He turned from them, Minerva glancing over to follow his gaze without losing sight of the man himself. It took a second to realize that he was focused on the herd in the distance, but that revelation sent a cold sting of fear through her. "... You're insane." She judged with a scowl. James frowned at her, though the tiredness in his gaze proved this accusation was nothing new to him.

"Life is precious. Even walkers are alive, in a way. Isn't the world filled with enough death already?" James asked sincerely as he took another step towards her. Fight or flight kicked in, her adrenal glands going into overdrive in response to his movement. Slightly taller than her, much broader, definitely stronger, completely unhinged… if she let him get the first move, she was as good as dead. He kept approaching much to her dismay. If he took one more step towards her, he would sign his own death warrant. 

"Minerva, please, just stop murdering people! Yeah, he's weird, but come on! You don't need to hurt him!" Sophie's spirit begged in vain. Her so-called conscience was cast aside without a second thought in favor of a cold blooded analysis. He'd beaten her with ease between her already bruised and battered body and the fact that he managed to get the drop on her. Any fight where he got the first hit in would be one he won, and a fair fight wasn't likely to go her way either. The second part didn't concern her as much as one might think. After all, she'd been fighting dirty since second grade. All she had to do was find something nearby that she could use to her advantage. Her fingers sunk into the wet ground beneath her, inspiration flashing in her mind. That gave her both a distraction and a weapon, if she used it right. This was his last chance before she would put him in the ground. 

"I can tell you agree at least partially. I've been-" He was within arm's reach now, and for her, that was far too close.

Minerva flew to her feet, tossing a fistful of mud at James' face to distract him. He was clearly taken off guard, stumbling back as he wiped it off of his face. She rushed him before he got the chance to recover, slamming a knee into his groin and throwing him to the ground by his neck. James toppled with a grunt, managing to keep himself supported with his elbows. Why did people always have to struggle so much? It would've been easier for both of them if they just accepted fate. She stomped on his back and grabbed the back of his head with both hands.  _ "Should've just listened the first time," _ She bitterly mused. She slammed his head down into the mud and struggled to drown him in it, the slightly older man struggling against her fierce hold. His first instinct was to stand up and throw her off balance, something that Minerva just barely managed to keep her balance through. Muffled yells of protest resounded from below. Three minutes. All she needed to do was hold him like this for three minutes and the deed would be done.

It went relatively smoothly at first, the man unable to break free of her hold or get a solid grip of her body. All going as expected, morbid as it might have been. She found herself far less prepared for James to suddenly dive deeper towards the mud, successfully knocking Minerva's footing enough for him to get a hold of her foot before slamming her harshly into the ground. The impact winded her enough that she was powerless to keep him getting to his feet. James towered above her, his massive form blanketing her in shadow in the early morning sun. Before she could even so much as get back on her hands and knees, he'd already grabbed her and forced her to her feet moments before a stabbing pain shot through her shoulder, a horrible snap sounding from it a fraction of a second later. The hand quickly thrown over her mouth barely contained the shriek of pain and subsequent fateful howl from the girl. She bit down on his fingers, getting nothing more than a pained grunt. 

"Stop fighting! Please! I don't want to hurt you!" He hissed out between clenched teeth. "I'll reset your shoulder if you stop struggling. You can't win. Just listen."

Minerva glared daggers into the whisperer as her suspicious gaze tracked his every movement. Retaliation was inevitable, but in her state, she had no way of countering it. Her arm was throbbing and would be impossible to use even if it wasn't stuck in the whisperer's deathgrip. She knew she would more than likely die here. Her breathing was deceptively calm and even compared to the fear screaming in her mind at that moment. He was right: she'd more than met her match. Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes. If he was telling the truth, she could get out of this alive. If he wasn't, she was dead either way. Out of options, Minnie ceased her resistance. A loud pop and a lightning strike of pain gave way to a heavenly relief as her shoulder was set back into place. The redhead's eyes flung open in surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to be true to his word. Hid expression had softened, but still bore a wariness that bled into his tone. "Thank you. I'm going to release you now. We can talk…" The man promised, slowly loosening his grip. She snatched her arm away with a glare, but offered no further physical defiance. "I know you're afraid. That's why I'm still willing to help, despite this."

"I don't want your help. That should've been obvious." Minerva retorted, nursing her lightly aching arm. Some guilt flashed over his eyes at the sight, something that made her annoyed frown deepen. She just tried to drown him, and he's feeling guilty about a dislocated shoulder? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Want and need are different," He pointed out. Her lips thinned. Keener than he looked it seemed. James continued, either ignorant of her analyzing gaze or choosing to overlook it. "You would not be here if the others hadn't rejected you, meaning you're alone. You haven't tried to use any weapons, so you must have none. That makes you vulnerable, and  _ that  _ makes you afraid."

Her eyes narrowed. "Your point?" She growsed, uninterested in debating the obvious.

"You won't survive long like this. When I left the Whisperers… I was like you. Lashing out to disguise my fear and regrets," He explained. She despised how he presumed to know so much about her just like he had at the school, but her preferred approach had already failed. The only thing she could do was hear him out. "That was before I found peace. I believe you can too, Minerva. It took me years to find it alone, and there were so many times I could have died before coming to terms with my actions. You are different. You don't have to be alone. I want to help you find-"

Minerva rolled her eyes, turning away from him. "Not interested. Leave."

He went silent for a moment, the surviving sister briefly thinking he might have finally taken her warning seriously. Annoyance flared when his voice shattered the silence to the contrary. "... You might not want redemption, but I know you want to reach that ship. You can't get there on your own. Let me help you." He debated with a frustratingly knowing tone. She glared at him out of the corner of her vision, but made no move to interrupt him. He correctly read it as an invitation to continue. "I can distract the walkers away from the ruins so you can do what you need. If I do this, you _ will  _ spare the walkers."

The raider turned to him with a scowl. "Like hell. I'm not going to get myself killed for someone like  _ you _ ."

James didn't look angry like she'd intended, but he instead gained a patient expression. "Like me?" He questioned with slight curiosity. Minerva didn't bother answering, turning her focus back to formulating her plan. If he couldn't figure out what that meant on his own, her explanation wouldn't have done any good anyways. Despite the insanity of the walker-freak's words, there was no denying that taking on the herd directly was out of the question before they'd even began. A thought struck her: she needed a distraction, and this idiot was offering himself on a silver platter anyways. If she played along, she could get rid of two enemies in one go. Minerva could easily clear out the ship and loot it for all it was worth while he was busy trying to get himself killed. Her piercing eyes glanced back to him, her gaze fierce and scrutinizing. It was unavoidable: she couldn't do this remotely safely on her own, so she  _ needed  _ his help. The very thought of it made her scowl. Relying on the mercy of a stranger because she'd betrayed both her homes and killed nearly everyone she ever loved… Christ, she really had fallen a long way, hadn't she?

"... Fine.  _ If  _ you distract the walkers away from the boat, I'll try not to kill too many of then," She said, and at heart, it wasn't a complete lie. She  _ would  _ try to avoid killing more of them than needed, but that was for practicality's sake less than actually tolerating his ridiculous philosophy. Still, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "But I'll need a weapon. You can't expect me to go into a dead-infested ruin defenseless."

He frowned at her words. Contemplation danced behind his eyes, nearly hidden completely under his mask. Ultimately, however, he gave a slow, somewhat defeated nod. "... I suppose that is all I can ask…" He conceded. A brief instance of fear flashed through her when he drew two massive knives from his jacket (how could she have missed those? She really must be exhausted…), the things bordering on being swords. It faded as he grabbed the dull side of one of the blades and held it out to her hilt-first. She cautiously took hold of it and went to pull it back, only for James' grip to tighten. "Last. Resort. I will  _ not  _ abide senseless suffering." He spoke forcefully, his eyes dark and tone severe. Minerva kept an even expression despite the thinly veiled threat. "It will take a few minutes. Be ready."

He walked towards the forest knife in hand, shifting more and more into a shamble the closer he got to the herd. It wasn't long before he disappeared amongst the trees. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. If he was setting her up, she'd personally make sure he spent the rest of time as a severed head floating down the river. Some time passed without any sign of him. She clenched her fists. He must've betrayed her- "Come on," Sophie piped up, seemingly back from oblivion. "Just give him a chance. He could've killed you just then, but he was still trying to help. I think he's good for it!" The phantom insisted. Minerva didn't humor it with a response. She was nearly about to start working on a plan b when a thunderous crash suddenly erupted from within the forest. The tops of the trees were shaking like they were caught in an earthquake. What the hell did he do? Despite her curiosity for what was happening, she focused on the army of walkers guarding the boat. It seemed they heard the noise just as well as she did, countless rotting heads swiveling to face the cacophony.

The moans and groans of the herd formed the choir of hell as they began to shamble towards the source of the noise with gaping maws. Dozens if not hundreds of footsteps drowned out the roar of the river, a cloud of dirt and dust following them like an aura of death. Slowly but surely they made their way away from the shore into the trap. Well, seems like that was the signal. She began making her way to the ship, not bothering to look for her accomplice in the distance. James' survival was up to himself as far as she was concerned. She didn't ask for his help. Anything that happened to that moron was squarely on his own shoulders now. Minerva trailed distantly behind, ever so cautiously approaching the ship. The raider quietly snuck behind one of the stragglers, kicking its knee out from under it before plunging the former whisperer's knife into its skull. Her arms looped under the corpse's before dragging it with her towards the skeletal wreck that used to be her home. If James fucked her over or managed to botch the plan, she wanted to have this as a backup. If it had worked for Louis and Violet, it would work for her. Her gaze followed a rigorous schedule: immediate surroundings, herd, boat, repeat. The ship thankfully wasn't that far, probably no more than a hundred feet before the entrance. Of course, there was also the problems that would come when she actually got their. Structural integrity had gone to hell the second the bomb went off, naturally. There was no guarantee the warped metal would actually hold her weight. There was also the question of whether the supplies stored her were even still useable. Two weeks of exposure to the elements was bound to take its toll on the stockpile. Had she been in a sounder mindset before coming up with this plan, she probably would have realized all these issues ahead of time. All she could do at this point was follow through on the plan and pray that she found something worth all the effort.

It took a few minutes for the last clumps of stragglers to finally clear out, but once they had, Minerva quickly found herself at the unintentional entrance to the boat. She dumped the walker haphazardly before shoving the knife in its gut and ripping it towards her. The squicks and squirts the rotten husk made as it was cut open was disgusting enough on its own even before the stench hit her, Minerva unable to keep from gagging a little. None of her survival experience or training had prepared her for something this sickening.  _ "Oh, fuck… what the hell is wrong with them?!  _ **_This_ ** _ was their bright idea to get on the boat?!"  _ The raider thought queasily, her eyes watering. The stench of walkers on the outside was one thing. Clearly, however, the most noxious gases remained trapped  _ inside  _ the corpses. The black puddle of ooze that might have once been a small intestine bubbled out of it and seeped into the mud around it, Minerva closing her eyes. It was the best and smartest way to explore the ship in relative safety. There was no sense in refusing a good survival strategy just because of a little discomfort. She shoved her hands inside the cadaver's gut and dragged its half-dissolved organs out of it before drenching herself in the revolting liquid. It took several minutes and a significant amount of willpower, but soon enough, the raider was fully protected by walker entrails. She forced herself to ignore the feeling of it staining through her clothes and touching her skin as she started into the abandoned remains of the boat.

It was dark inside, naturally. Thin strands of sunlight streamed through small holes and cracks at points, but it was largely up to her own eyesight to navigate in the darkness. Thankfully, the ship had been damaged enough that sunlight peeked through cracks and holes in the twisted and rusting metal somewhat regularly, leaving it very dim rather than pitch black. The bigger issue was trying to move around the boat now that it had capsized. She'd memorized every inch of the Fitzgerald after all of her various deployments, but rotating the entire thing ninety degrees on top of blowing it to hell made the once familiar corridors and stairways nearly unrecognizable. She had to walk on the walls and leap across doorways just to keep from falling to death inside it. As she recalled, the majority of the supplies were stored on Deck D, just two floors below the boiler room. There was a chance that at least some of it survived the explosion and subsequent crash. The main challenge was actually getting there with the ship in such disarray. Without much of a guide, she climbed up a makeshift rampart to the next floor up.

A low growling echoed through the halls, making her pause. The raider silently tracked down the source of the nose with her knife drawn. Better to get them now than when they picked up on her presence. Rusted iron bars lined the few windows on the deck, revealing that she must have been approaching the detention deck. The place where everything went wrong. Fitting, in a sort of cosmic 'fuck you' to Minerva. Her eyes darkened as she saw the source of the walker noises. Sullene's vacant and fogged over eyes stared back into hers as the walker pitifully tried to grab her former comrade in arms, the woman impaled through the stomach on a jagged shard of metal jutting out from the floor. She must've toppled over during the initial blast, only for the floor to be torn open as the explosion ripped the ship apart. She was barely even recognizable anymore, her once chubby cheeks sunken into bone and her olive skin turned ashy grey. Minerva closed her eyes with a pained hiss. Sullene had her faults, without a doubt. Quick temper, slow on the uptake, but she was also Minerva's first real friend in the Delta. Hell, Lily might have been her commander, but Sullene was her and Sophie's mentor. Minerva owed that woman everything for teaching her how to adjust to the Delta, and now she was a corpse. She didn't deserve to turn, or to die alone for that matter. Yet another victim of Clementine's twisted philosophy. She lined the knife up with its eye and shoved it in with an unspoken farewell to her first real friend of her third life. Despite the regret and sorrow threatening to peak out just below the surface, Minerva searched the body for anything useful.  _ "She'd want you to survive more than she'd want anyone spilling tears over her,"  _ The redhead rationalized. She grabbed off the holster and pistol within it from the corpse and fastened it to her own blood soaked outfit and grabbed a spare knife from its pocket. Good, now she had multiple weapons to rely on. From her recollection, if she were in the cellblock, Deck D should be three floors below her. If she could find the stairwell, she was set. Assuming anything inside was still useable anyway.

She tried her best to ignore the groan of the ramshackle remains of the splintered stairway as she climbed her way down them.  _ Of course  _ the stairway had to be on the part of the ship that was a good six stories off the ground. It was like a bunch of monkey bars, except she'd break a lot more than an arm if she fell off these ones. Ever so slowly she descended down the deadly corridor with constantly held breaths. Minerva probably took twenty minutes just trying to get down without taking too harsh a drop, cringing each and every time the rusty metal threatened to finally snap. At last, she got into place to swing to Deck D, landing on the ground in a roll. A hiss escaped her as she landed on her bad leg, the renegade raider forcing herself back to her feet to carry on. If her loot existed, it would be here. She was at the lowest level of the ship now. The bottom rear end of the ship was dedicated to storing supplies, but being the lowest level, it had also succumb to flooding. The ship capsizing turned out to be a blessing in disguise, most of the water having already leaked out of the ship from the holes in the hull.  Her hope diminished more and more with each fruitless room as she increasingly desperately searched through the various storage rooms. Most were either burnt to ash or waterlogged beyond salvation if they were filled at all. Considering how Ericson's had robbed them, it was likely the school had already gutted a fair chunk of their supplies before they even left the dock. She had barely any motivation to check the final room, but forced herself to do so. Giving up was failure, and failure was unacceptable. Unlike the others, this room was partially collapsed, the door forming a ramp rather than the sheer drop down most had become. She carefully slid down inside with bitter disappointment already building in her mind. She came face to face with a very different reality.

Minerva's eyes widened as she looked over her bounty, water softly splashing under her boots as she walked towards the dozens of crates. Ammunition, guns, fuel, winter gear, MREs, bottled water… some of it was likely ruined due to the flooding, but she had struck gold here. Relief washed over the redhead, letting out a breath.

She still had a chance.

***

The scent of soil was as heavy as it was rich in the air of the greenhouse, a smell Clementine had grown to love in recent weeks. She carried a somewhat hefty gardening can in her hand as she patrolled the greenhouse and watered the various fruits and vegetables growing within. The blind brunette diligently went about her task with a feeling of satisfied pride. This place always brought a sensation of peace to her when things felt like they were spinning out of control. Seeing as how that had basically been her default state for nearly the past month, an appreciation for the garden was pretty much unavoidable. She imagined it looked beautiful; bright greens and yellows and reds as far as the eye could see, a clear blue sky visible through the slightly tinted glass panels. Clem wished more than almost anything that she could see it, but just being able to be there at all was a great comfort. She had power and responsibility here. What she did  _ mattered _ . It was the closest she could ever come to replicating the feeling of the bell tower from so long ago.

Three weeks. Just over three weeks ago, she confessed her love to the girl of her dreams. Even now, it was weird for her to think that so little time had passed considering everything that had happened since then. It was sadder to think the very same girl was now trapped in her own dreams even seven days after Minerva's breakout. Violet still hadn't left her coma, something that didn't surprise yet still disappointed Clementine immeasurably. She knew she shouldn't have been, that it would have been a miracle if she'd woken up this soon and should be grateful she was still alive at all, but it was hard knowing how delicate her love's condition was and yet having no way of being able to help  _ on top  _ of still coming to terms with her own mental and physical trauma. Linguard would probably have her on a cocktail of happy pills right now, assuming he had any to spare without touching his person stash, that junkie bastard. Then again, he'd probably say medicine would've been wasted on her just like he did to AJ. Javi should've let her shove a knife through his goddamn-

The bump of a wet snout against her hand broke Clementine from her thoughts, a curious and worried whine erupting from next to her. "Hey, Rosie," She greeted fondly. Leave it to her loyal pup to sense when her mood swings were getting the better of her. Clem dropped to a knee to get on the animal's level only for Rosie to start licking her. A ghost of a grin came to her as she chuckled and turned her head. "I get it, I get it. I'll stop being sad around you. See? All smiles," The blind brunette rambled at her pet. It must've done something for her because she let out a bark of affirmation that helped to solidify her master's good mood. The sightless survivor scratched behind Rosie's ears with a full-blown smile at the dog's happy panting. "Good girl."

She shook her head as she returned to full height and got back to watering the plants. That was behind her. Dwelling on old grudges was pointless. Richmond's crimes were a long time ago, and they didn't matter anymore anyway. She would be okay long as she kept her cool. Not everything was dark, after all. Ruby had told her that they were approaching the normal time frame for people in comas to wake up. Her episodes weren't getting  _ better  _ exactly, but she was getting slightly better at containing them. Violet's absence took a notable toll on her support system however. She'd largely been able to deal with it by herself or with AJ, Ruby, and Louis' support, but confessing her worries and fears to them never felt as easy as it did with her beloved blonde. She wasn't especially keen on sharing weaknesses like that with anyone in truth. If she had any options other than talk about her problems or be constantly crippled by it, she would choose it in a heartbeat.

Of course, Christa's unexpected return had changed the usual dynamic a lot in the past several days. Clementine didn't find the somewhat cold mother figure in Christa that she had so many years prior, but the woman probably knew her better than anyone with the exception of AJ. Her old friend was a good way of keeping her mind off of her current issues, and sometimes dealing with old ones. Her guilt over Omid still hung in the air like a cloud, one of the many loved ones she doubted she'd ever really get over losing, but having Christa talking to her with something other than cold annoyance or aloof concern helped mend her regrets of how they'd parted ways. From the faint relief her former guardian often spoke with, she liked to think it did the same for her as well. She wasn't sure how long she'd be staying (Aasim and David both preferred to be tight-lipped about this newfound alliance between them), but Clem was glad to have this time with her period. Hell, sometimes they'd even shared the few happy memories they had of each other with AJ and some of the other kids, who gave their own (often exaggerated, to her amusement) tales of her 'super coolness' as her son had dubbed it in turn. 

When she wasn't with Christa, hanging out with the kids in general or forcing herself through one of Ruby's now mandatory therapy sessions, she tried to either be working or with her comatose girlfriend. The country medic had set a fair if somewhat strict schedule for her: she could have thirty-minute visits with Violet in the morning, afternoon, and night each day between work shifts and interacting with the other students or Christa. The work part of it was Clementine's idea. Ruby had been less than thrilled with the idea of setting her back to work so quickly after a traumatizing event, but after nearly an hour of back and forth, was finally convinced that working in the garden would ultimately help her more than rest would. That didn't keep the doctor from having Louis assign a chaperone to the blind brunette however. It was annoying being coddled like that, but considering her increasingly common episodes, she didn't have a leg to stand on. Louis had thankfully decided AJ would be the best for it, so at least she could convince herself she was looking after him as much as he was her.  Things had come to an odd sort of status quo, for better or worse.

"Uh, Clem? I think I broke the orange stick things…" A young voice called out from the opposite end of the greenhouse. Ah, there was her 'supervisor'. How exactly someone could break a carrot inside the ground was beyond her, but AJ was nothing if not full of surprises.

"Coming," She answered back before turning around. The girl listened to the quiet clanking of Rosie's tags bouncing as the dog walked by her side. It was kinda like her snapping trick, giving an admittedly very fuzzy and undefined picture of the tables around her, but it was clear enough that she could partly make out something out in front of one of the tables as she got closer. "Okay, goofball, what's going on?"

She could practically see him rolling his eyes at his despised nickname, but he must've been  _ really  _ desperate for help as he didn't bother correcting her. "I was pulling it up by the green bit, but it ripped out of the orange stick thing."

"Carrot." She corrected.

"It ripped out of the  _ carrot _ ." He said the new word with an unnatural focus, almost like he was trying to get used to the feeling of it in his mouth. She suppressed a chuckle at his oh-so-smooth recovery as she felt around the planter. The soil was still wet between her previous watering and the morning dew still clinging to it, a good sign for its retention. They could probably get away with using a little less water if it held it this well. Finally, she felt her hand bump into a small bump with barely any stalk to speak of, telling her what had gone wrong instantly.

"Were you pulling it up from the bottom here?" She questioned, though she had a feeling she knew the answer." 

"I tried, but it wasn't moving, so I tried going a little higher. It felt like it was coming up until it just snapped off. Did I ruin it?"

Clem shook her head. "No, we weren't going to let this one grow out anyway. You just have to dig it out. Like this," She announced, taking out a small trowel from her jacket pocket and shifting the dirt to reveal more of the buried vegetable. She grabbed it and ripped up, the carrot coming out without much effort. She held it out to him, the young boy gently taking it from her hands before the sound of it softly falling into a sack reached her ears. "See? Easy."

"I think I get it. Thanks Clem!" 

She flashed him a smile and ruffled his hair, much to the kid's chagrin. "Sure thing, goofball."

"Alvin Junior…" He grumbled, only serving to make her smile widen.

"After ripping that carrot in half? Nope. Definitely goofball," Clementine teased. "How many have you got so far?"

"Only a couple. I was trying to get that one out for awhile." AJ admitted. Was that embarrassment in his voice? 

"Persistence is a good thing, kiddo. Just have to work smarter instead of harder. Here, I'll help you with these. Try to leave one out of every three in there for next time." Clem insisted. AJ didn't bother protesting her assistance, though whether it was because he actually wanted her help or didn't want to argue over something so small was debatable. It was definitely easier for her, probably because she didn't need a step stool to reach the things in the first place, but AJ was going to be here anyway, so she figured it was probably a good idea to learn a thing or two about running the greenhouse. It was better than having him just sitting there getting bored out of his mind at any rate. Besides, there was a pretty massive number of carrots to tend to, whether it be harvesting or planting. The more help she and Ruby had here the better. She and her son worked in a comfortable silence for a time, merely enjoying each other's company as they went about their chores. If she were being honest with herself, it was really nice just to do something normal. Like taking a sip of water after hours in the sun.

Eventually, AJ broke the silence with some idle commentary. "I think I like carrots. When they're soft, though. The hard ones kinda suck. Did you like them when you were little?"

Clem shrugged. "Not really. My mom was super into fitness though. Apples, carrots, celery, pretty much every snack in the house was something healthy. That's probably why she got me into Disco Broccoli, actually," She reminisced, a chuckle escaping her as a long since cast aside memory suddenly came back to the surfaces. "Except pancakes. My dad  _ loved  _ chocolate chip pancakes. He'd make them every Saturday. I'd always get up way, way too early to help him make them. My mom's smile when she'd come down stairs and see us laying everything on the table… she was so happy. All of us were." The teenager's happy tone turned bittersweet, the memories of her mother's sweet smile and father's cocky grin overlapping with their rotting skin and blank stares in Savannah. Despite the ache in her heart, it was actually nice getting to tell someone about them. They were good people, people worth remembering. 

"I wish I coulda met them. They sound super nice..." AJ lamented. She nodded solemnly. Clem would like to think they would have liked AJ. All of her families over the years, really. A few seconds passed before the younger boy seemed to recognize the somber mood that was starting to take over. "So… uh… what exactly  _ is  _ a pancake?"

Clementine paused. She tried to think back on if they'd ever had pancakes, but none came to mind. Even their brief time at the ranch at its prime hadn't afforded them such a luxury. She hummed as she tried to think of how exactly to describe them to a boy who'd never even had the joy of freshly made bread. "Um… well, I guess they were kind of like big, fluffy circles that tasted sweet. You'd pour batter in a pan and cook it on the stove until about halfway through. Then you had to flip it over really quickly to cook the other half. You could put pretty much anything into it. Like I said, my dad and I loved chocolate ones." She explained as she planted some of the carrot seeds back in the ground.

"Like rabbit?" AJ asked innocently. She tried (and failed) not to pull a face.

"Uh, no. Well, you could, but that'd be pretty gross. You usually put treats in them."

He gave an intrigued hum that she couldn't help but find adorable. "Could we make pancakes?" He tried to ask casually despite the excited curiosity bleeding into his tone.

God, the idea of having pancakes again sounded like heaven. The blind brunette wished she could say yes without hesitation, but reality kept her from doing so in good conscience. "Hopefully someday, kiddo. I'd love for you to try some," Clem replied. He seemed fairly satisfied with this answer as they went back to working in silence. She hoped he wasn't too disappointed. One of the few benefits of being blind was not having to see how his face fall whenever she was forced to tell him a bitter truth of the world they lived in. It always broke her heart when he'd ask her if they'd ever have a home and she'd always have to give him a non-answer to spare his feelings without giving him false hope. Then again, she ended up being proven wrong before and had a home to prove it. Maybe she'd be able to give him some old world experiences after all. Actually… that gave her an idea. "Anything else you're curious about from when I was as little as you?"

"I'm not that little," AJ grumbled. "But… yeah, I do. What were cartoons like?"

When was the last time she seriously talked about cartoons? The only thing that came to mind was having stupid arguments about whose shows were better with Duck all the way back at the motor inn. Fond memories, once upon a time. "They were great, AJ. I always liked Disco Broccoli the most. It was really funny. Educational enough that they would let us watch it at school sometimes, too. Imagine the toys, but moving like people."

"That sounds kinda creepy."

She couldn't stifle a giggle. "I swear it wasn't."

"Do you think we'll ever grow some broccoli?" AJ questioned. She raised an eyebrow as she plucked one of the carrots from the dirt.

"I guess it's possible if we traded with Richmond for some. Don't know why you want it though, it's gross."

"No it's not! Disco Broccoli's cool. That's gotta mean normal broccoli's at least a little cool, right?" Her son protested.

A small laugh escaped the blind brunette, a smile coming to her lips. "Tell you what: If I tell Louis to ask for some broccoli seeds, when they're ready, you're gonna eat a whole bowl of it. Let's see how  _ not  _ gross it is then. Deal?" She dared with a sinister smirk. It'd take months for her prank to pull off, but the idea of AJ trying broccoli for the first time was too cute and hilarious to pass up on. Louis would totally go for it too, so it wouldn't even be that hard to set up. Her grin fell for a moment. Louis… things were still a little awkward between them ever since his confession a few days prior. They were perfectly fine if other people were in the room, joking around and generally just having their usual dynamic, but neither knew what to do or say if they were left in a room together. 

"... Are you mad at Louis?"

The sudden question violently ripped her away from her thoughts. Her brow furrowed in confused surprise, the expression accentuated by the dark purple blocking off her eyes. "What? No, why?"

"It's just you two don't really hang out like you used to. I mean, I know he's busy a lot now since… but still. Did we do something bad?"

Clementine sighed, setting her equipment down. Damn this kid's perception… "No, I'm not mad at Louis, and he's not mad at me. Or you, for that matter. He's just…"

_ She wasn't entirely sure what time it was or even what exactly she'd say to the pianist if he answered, but Clementine found herself lingering outside Louis' dorm room with a well of uncertainty forming in her. It had been three days since Violet went into her coma, and since then, Clementine had kept herself occupied however she could to keep from dwelling on her mental state. She'd prefer to keep doing that forever if she could, but alas, it always came back to haunt her in the end. As far as she knew, it was the middle of the night, and she couldn't sleep. That in it of itself was hardly unusual for her. It'd be easier to list off the things that let her sleep well than things that kept her up at night. What was different this time was that she couldn't seem to get her mind off of her dream from the night Violet got attacked. _

**_"Never have I ever cheated on my girlfriend,"_ ** _ The imaginary Louis taunted her. What the hell _ was that supposed to mean? What was that memory of her kissing someone else? Did Louis know something she didn't?

_ These questions planted in her brain from her nightmare a couple nights prior and were still lurking around in the corners of her mind even despite everything that happened. It hadn't even crossed her mind the first day of Violet's coma and seemed pretty and insignificant on the second, but now that the dust was starting to settle a little, it wouldn't leave her alone. Her dreams  _ **_always_ ** _ played off something she'd actually done or seen, very rarely coming up with something completely foreign. The memory of Louis' lips on hers was undeniably real enough that it let flowers of doubt take seed in her. She needed an answer if she was going to put the issue to rest. With that in mind, she gave the door a firm knock. It was about ten seconds before she heard sluggish movement inside, and probably half a minute before the door creamed open with a groan. … "Hmm? Oh. Hey, Clem. Super cool of you to visit at like... three in the morning or something. Seriously, love the company. What's-" _

_ "Do you remember anything from that night we were drinking?" Clementine asked him flat out. There was no point in beating around the bush here, she just needed to get her answer so she could go to bed in relative peace. _

_ "I-wh-uh…" He gave a deep sigh. A muttered curse preempted his answer. "... Yeah. We need to talk." _

_ Well, fuck. That was just about the worst way he could have started the conversation, but she should have expected it. This was  _ **_Louis_ ** _ , after all. She crossed her arms as dread pooled in her stomach. "What happened?" She asked cooly in an effort to hide the worry. _

_ He hesitated, each moment of his silence making the hairs on her neck stand up more and more. At last, he spoke up. "Okay… so, we both got absolutely shitfaced. Like, you were actually laughing at my jokes kinda drunk. Well… I guess at one point I called you pretty, and you denied it. I just kept saying how awesome you are until you just shot up and kissed me." _

_ She could feel her face turning red with shame and embarrassment. "I kissed you?" The girl repeated, unable to believe the words even as she said them. It didn't seem real, but thinking through it logically, it did add up. She'd been convinced Violet abandoned her for Minnie at the time, drank her worries away, and then suddenly had someone she admittedly was attracted to once telling her the opposite of all her self-pitying and loathing thoughts? She pinched the bridge of her nose.  _ **_FUCK_ ** _. That was- _ **_"God damn it, Clementine!"_ ** _ She shouted in her mind. Despite the embarrassment, her frustration soon turned towards to Louis. He knew all this time and never told her? What the  _ **_fuck?!_ ** _ Her cheeks were burning, a stark contrast to the measured expression she forced herself to take. "And when exactly were you going to talk to me about this?" She asked, though it sounded more like a damning accusation. She could all but see Louis shrink in place. _

_ "The day after the guys from Richmond showed up. I swear, I wanted to tell you as soon as I could, but… I was scared. Violet said everything short of straight up hating me when I told her. She…" He sighed, the floorboards softly creaking below him. _

_ "She  _ **_what_ ** _?" Clementine pressed, dissatisfied with his uncharacteristic shyness. _

_ "She said it should have been me." He quietly admitted. She didn't need any context to know exactly what Violet meant, and the cruelty of it was like a gutpunch. Her severe look softened. _

_ "She didn't mean that." _

_ Louis gave a laugh, but there was no mirth to it. It was low and bitter. The all too familiar sound of his self-loathing. "Maybe not," He conceded. "But that doesn't mean she was wrong." _

_ Clementine frowned, shaking her head. Fuck could her girlfriend be cruel sometimes. It was such a Violet thing to do that she didn't even bother trying to figure out if he was lying. That sort of heart-stabbing remark was something only their usually kind leader was capable of. "That's bullshit, Louis. I told you that on the boat, and I'm telling you know. This," She dismissively waved towards her blindfold. "Is not your fault. Neither is anything that's happened since then, aside from what you yourself did. You can't throw every bad call or regret on your shoulders, or it'll crush you." _

_ Silence dominated the room for a time. She was still pissed at him, but she knew first hand how much that thought process poisoned judgement. Having a leader that was constantly trying to nail himself on a cross wouldn't do any of them any favors, least of all the two of them. Her friend slowly spoke up again. "... I was going to tell you the next morning. Then everything went to shit. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I-" _

_ "Louis," She interrupted, forceful enough to grab his attention without being too threatening. "I won't pretend I'm thrilled with you right now. You shouldn't have hidden it from me. But… I was the one who took the bottle. I'm the one who kissed you. So… let's just call it even and try to go from there." Clementine compromised. _

_ "I…" He paused, clearly taken off guard. The surprise in his voice soon turned to a quiet gratefulness. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Thank you, Clem." Her old friend agreed. She gave a nod. A beat passed before a nearly audible smirk cam to Louis' lips. "Sure you don't want to call in that offer to hit me?" _

_ Clementine rolled her remaining eye as best she could under her blindfold. "Keep it up and I will." _

"... sad, about Violet," She half-lied. "It'll be alright. Once she's back on her feet, he'll be more like his usual dumbass self."

AJ seemed to ponder this for a moment. "... Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But… swear."

Clementine scoffed, crossing her arms. "Come on, ass isn't a real swear! That doesn't count!" 

"Does that mean I can say it?"

"No."

"Why not?" He pouted.

"'Cause I'm older than you, goofball." She countered with a smirk. It always astounded her how seamlessly they could shift from goofy jokes to uncomfortably poignant life questions and back again. Only AJ. "Come on, let's wrap this up and get some lunch. I-"

The door to the greenhouse flung open, Clementine spinning around with her knife drawn instantly. "Clem. Violet's- it's happening!" Louis' voice frantically announced. It? About half a second passed before her brain pieced together what 'it' was, and when it did, she found herself sprinting before the words even fully sunk in.

Violet was waking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could honestly write scenes of Clem and AJ having mother-son banter for the rest of the book if I were so inclined, I love writing them thst much.


	24. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet thought she was dead... until she wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violet waking up? What a happy event! I'm sure nothing can ruin something this happy!

_ "What's the most important thing in this world? _

_ What's the one thing a guy would walk hundreds of miles to get back?" _

Violet was losing her patience. She didn't know how long she'd been trapped in this void, other than the fact that it felt like a lifetime. She'd grown to despise the pitch black blanket that enveloped her new reality especially. What had once been terrifying had rapidly become a massive annoyance. Muted noises, empty darkness, and the constant pull of gravity had been all she'd known for god knows how long, but the girl had long since run out of things to ruminate on. The boredom would have been mind numbing if it weren't so infuriating.

It didn't help that the blonde's thought process had become decidedly spiteful at some point. Maybe it was this place getting to her, but an overwhelming sense of betrayal came over her every time she thought of Minerva. The fear she'd felt for her when she first got stabbed had long since morphed into resentment. The more she thought about Minerva, the less tinted her rose-colored glasses seemed to get. It was almost funny, in a way: Minerva turned out to be completely right. Violet's loyalty to the redhead even after all her betrayals and crimes, and why? Because she clung onto memories of a middle school crush that treated her more like a best friend she occasionally kissed than an actual partner? Like Minnie was still the girl she'd climb up the bell tower in the middle of the night to hang out with? The fact that she trusted her, put  _ Clementine  _ through the wringer for her, and Minerva took that and threw it back in her face made her feel like a complete moron, and  _ that  _ made her livid. What the fuck had she been doing this whole time? How could she have been so blind to something everyone else could see? Was she really so desperate to have her old flame back that she ignored how much Minnie had fallen? Christ. How pathetic. She let Clementine's already fragile mental state go into freefall trying to juggle it and Minerva's health at the same time… no wonder the brunette thought she'd abandoned her. Every time her shame began to turn to self loathing, it looped back into spite for her former girlfriend. An old coping mechanism that always worked against her more often than it actually helped, yet she never seemed to fully shake it. Seems all those visits with shrinks didn't pay off that much after all.

She drifted for what she assumed were hours, slipping in and out of consciousness with little difference between the two. The young woman had largely stopped caring anyway. After all, she was dead. What did it matter if she were awake for purgatory or not? All that was left to do was just wait around for whatever came next. It'd be nice to see everyone she'd lost again, if that was in fact how it worked. Things were still pretty murky on how much the good book actually got right as far as she could tell. It was darkly ironic; she'd spent most of her life figuring it didn't matter what happened after she died, and now she was biding her time until whatever was going to happen happened. Someone was laughing at her somewhere, she was certain of it. She sighed internally. Nothing much she could do about it, or anything else for that matter. She kept simply falling in a world of nothingness forever… until she didn't. Violet hit solid ground with a gasp, and for the first time in god knows how long, light flooded her vision. It was absolutely blinding to her, the blonde slamming her eyes shut again with a cringe as soon as they'd flittered open. It didn't do much good as it managed to leak through her eyelids irregardless. Was this heaven? It was sure as shit bright enough to be… she slowly peaked again to see what awaited her. It was pure white for at least a good ten seconds or so before a room gradually took form around her. Familiar sickly green walls and pale sunlight streaming from a dirt caked window greeted the teen through squinted eyes. Was this… this was the nurse's office. Huh. Well, that definitely wasn't what she was expecting. It was actually kind of disappointing. She sat through what might have been an eternity of purgatory just for heaven to look just like the school? Even in death she was still getting jipped. 

Violet blinked. Yeah, this was definitely Ms. Martin's old quarters. There was no mistaking their old friend's shitty taste in decorating, the tacky and tired decorations only spared the wrath of the students out of respect for the woman who stayed for them when no one else would. Her mouth was dry, the air like sandpaper over her tongue. She tried to sit up only to find her refused to cooperate. Her leg burst into a stabbing pain, a small hiss escaping her in protest. Well, wherever she was, her kneecap was still ruined. Running away wouldn't be an option even if she could move the rest of her body. Everything from her toes to her head felt like it was made out of cement, the leader of the school only barely able to angle her head enough to see the handcuffs securing both wrists to the bedpost.  _ "What the hell…?"  _ She mentally questioned. Putting in as much effort as she could muster, she barely managed to make her hand move slightly, gently jostling her restraints to no avail. A tugging on her arm drew her attention to an IV plugged into a vein. Her eyes widened as bewilderment began overtaking her mind. The theory that she was dead was rapidly falling to pieces at this point. But if she was alive, then what happened?

A faint noise echoed from outside the door and caught her attention. She tried to focus on it as best she could with her limited range of movement. After a few seconds, she could faintly make out the sound of distant footsteps. Heavily muffled voices came into earshot as well as the footfalls grew nearer. Between the distance and the thick wooden door between them, though, it was impossible to discern any individual words or voices. She considered calling out for a moment, but thought better of it. It might look like the school, but she still didn't really know where she was. It might be better to play it cool for now. Violet closed her eyes once more and simply waited. Maybe half a minute passed before the door opened with a click and a pair of familiar voices flowed forth. "-re things with Clem?" A twanged voice questioned, getting an uncertain sigh in response.

"Not bad, but we're still not back to how we were. At least AJ keeps things from getting too awkward. I can't tell if he's great at reading a room or god awful at it." A boy replied.

Recognition flashed in Violet's mind.  _ "... Louis? Ruby?" _

The door closed once more as Louis(?) strolled over in her direction, a chair creaking next to her. "... She's still not up." The musician noted, the usual levity that painted his voice completely absent. Not up? What was he talking about?

"It hasn't been that long, e'rything considered. If she's still out after next week, then we can start gettin' worried. 'Til then, it's just how she's healin'." The girl dismissed. Not unkindly, but it was clear it wasn't the first time she'd answered the question. The new information did nothing to solve the thousands of questions that all popped up at once. So, she  _ probably  _ wasn't dead, and her friends had been waiting for her to wake up. Shit, was she in a coma? That was… wow. That's a hell of a thing to wake up to. She hesitated to call herself  _ lucky _ , but the fact that she was still alive meant she made out better than most people these days did. Fairly certain that she had not in fact passed into the afterlife, Violet slowly opened her eyes. Ruby was on the other side of the room looking through some cabinets with what looked like IVs inside. Louis had turned to face the redhead as she spoke. Most people would have probably tried calling out to them, but the blonde couldn't help but want to freak him the fuck out by just waiting for him to notice. Why? Was it out of spite for what he did to Clem and lying to her? A friendly prank between friends? Just her twisted sense of humor? Probably a blend of all three, in truth. 

Louis sighed, shaking his head. "I know. I just miss her, you know? Can't help but feel like she's watching me and-" He turned back to find her staring directly at him, a tiny smirk appearing at his shocked expression. She rolled her eyes as he blinked. 

_ "Oh yeah, you're just hallucinating this. Dumbass." _

"... Nevermind, she's just watching me, because she's awake!" Louis called out with a delighted grin. Ruby cocked her head back towards him.

"What're you- Oh, shit, Violet!" Ruby frantically yelled out in clear shock. The doctor rushed to her side with wide eyes. Her tone changed to something more measured and clinical despite the hints of excitement still peeking out. "Louis, tell the others," She ordered. Louis only hesitated for a moment, sputtering out some incomprehensible mess of words before scurrying out of the words. "Take it easy now, Vi. You're alright. You got hurt, but we got you patched up in time. You followin' so far?"

"Not really? How am I alive? Wait..." She asked her old friend. Or, rather, she tried to. Violet spoke the words, yet no sound seemed to come out. She tried again, her lips moving to the words without the audio that should have accompanied them. A well of panic surged in the blonde. "What the fuck?! Ruby, can you hear me?!" Violet  _ knew  _ the words should have come out as a shout, but dead air suffocated the room. The confusion on the redhead's face quickly shifted into horrified realization as she clasped a hand over her mouth.

"Violet… Ah needja t'keep calm, alright? Ah know this is scary, but-"

"Fuck you, 'keep calm'! What the fuck happened to my voice?! Tell me!" Violet silently demanded. No, god, no. No fucking way the world would be that cruel. There's no way she could be mute. She grabbed for her throat out of fear but only felt the harsh pull of the cuffs. "This can't be happening… Ruby, what the hell is happening?!" The blonde could feel her breathing picking up rapidly and her heart began beating in her ears.  _ "Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck-"  _ Her mental panic came to a screeching halt as a her throat exploded into pain and she gasped for air. Fuck, she'd nearly forgotten about that. It didn't hurt nearly as much when she was in that void. The blonde couldn't tell if that was better or worse compared to its vicious return right now. It felt like a fist clamped down on her throat at the same time that dozens of razor blades were scraping along inside of it. The horrible coughing rocked her body The cuffs suddenly went lax less than a second before Ruby forced her to sit upright. 

"Shit, easy now. Violet, look at me," The doctor said, though the girl in question hardly noticed. Strong hands gripped her shoulder and gave her a small but forceful shake. "Look at me Vi!" Ruby ordered, Violet shooting her something between a glare and a pleading gaze. How could she even  _ maybe  _ be calm right now? "Good. You're alright. Just breathe, deep and slow."

Violet stared at her like that was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard even as the aftershocks of the cough continued rippling through her.. _ "Fucking seriously? Oh, yeah, my voice and throat are fucked six ways from Sunday, but breathing's my problem!" _ She ranted incredulously. She was only able to keep up the anger for a moment before the fear took back over. Countless panicked questions raced through her mind. What happened with Minnie? Was she dead? Was Clementine? She forced her eyes shut.  _ "God damn it… come on, get a hold of yourself, Violet. You're doing jack shit for them sitting here and panicking."  _ She reprimanded herself. As stupid as it sounded to her, Violet went to take a deep breath. It was still agonizing, but made her feel less like she was suffocating. That sensation lessened the more she breathed, though she had to do it through clenched teeth and closed eyes to cope with the agony she'd unwittingly brought upon herself.  

Ruby gently rubbed her back. Under any other circumstances, Violet would have been pissed at people babying her like this, but she sucked down her pride. If it helped her not die, fine, she could put up with it. The doctor faced her again, pulling a bottle out from her coat and holding it to Violet's lips. "Alright, now drink a little. Water should help clear things out a little," She insisted. Violet tried raising a hand to take the bottle herself, only for the appendage to start shaking like a leaf in the wind the higher she raised it up. Ruby noticed it and gently forced her hand back down. "Vi, if there's any time fer you t'be less of an angsty loner, it's now. C'mon."

Violet glared at her, feeling bitter humiliation building up in her. Fucking great. Not only was she apparently mute, but she was also a straight up invalid. She tried doing it herself yet again just for it to turn out exactly the same as the first attempt. The dryness of her mouth was beginning to hurt just to make things worse. With a defeated sigh, Violet parted her lips and let Ruby give her the water. Despite her growing frustration, the leader of the school was beyond relieved to have her thirst quenched, the stabbing pain in her mouth and throat fading into a dull ache. The doctor retracted the bottle far too soon in her opinion, but she couldn't exactly voice her objections anymore, could she? The two sat in a brief silence, her redheaded friend letting out a breath and allowing her shoulders to slump. Relief painted her features. "... I really can't tell you how good it is to have you back, Vi, pain in the ass that you are. You had us scared there fer a while…"

Violet frowned. That didn't bode well. Putting in all of her strength, she tried to say two words. It was a herculean effort, as draining as screeching at the top of her lungs would normally be, but she finally managed to produce a barely audible whisper. "Wh… app… en...?" She asked, her eyes going wide as she realized she actually managed to make a sound. It was quieter than a pin dropping, but fuck, it might as well have been a rock concert compared to her usual attempts at speech. It both relieved and unnerved her at the same time. On the one hand, she could still speak, somewhat. On the other… if she struggled that much to barely get two words out, was she ever going to fully recover? Ruby was clearly surprised as well, though it quickly shifted into worry.

"Don't strain yourself, Vi. If what Ah think's happenin'  _ is  _ happenin', it's real important you don't try to talk right now," Ruby warned, getting a half concerned and half annoyed stare from the blonde. "Ah don't know how much you remember, but Minnie got out. She attacked you an' Clem, an' Minnie was about to kill her when you jumped in th'way and got stabbed in the throat. You saved her life. That… that was a week ago," The medic admitted. Violet's jaw dropped. A week? She was unconscious for a whole fucking week?! She thought it was a couple days at most! She tried to speak again only to be interrupted by a sharp glare from Ruby. "Don't. Vi… Ah'm gonna put it as gently as Ah can. Ah think yer vocal cords might've swelled after Minnie stabbed you. If they did… they're prolly damaged. Ah don't know how bad it is right now, but… it might become permanent. 'Specially if you strain them while they're like this."

Violet stared at her in shock. Permanent? She… she could be mute forever? She subconsciously raised a shaky hand to her throat, noticing the feeling of a new scar forming there. It was better than being dead, but… her heart skipped a beat. Clementine. How was she supposed to be there for Clementine if she couldn't speak and Clem couldn't see her? Even when her hands stopped shaking, it's not like Clem would be able to read notes she wrote. Violet looked at her resting hand, glaring at the tremble it engaged in whenever she lifted it. The blind brunette nearly gave up on her because she was garbage at communicating even when she was completely capable. Would they have to rely on someone to translate for her? She despised the thought. Bullshit. Her and Clem's relationship was their business, no one else's. But what options would they have? Sit around and pray her voice eventually gets better while things slowly break down between them again? She survived the impossible just to have the thing she cared most about locked away from her? Her hands clenched into fists as her teeth clenched. It was a sick joke, and she wanted nothing more than to rip the throat out of whoever was making it.

"Vi," The country girl's voice called out, Violet glancing back up at her from behind her bangs. Her face must've turned as sour as her mood. "It ain't a forgone conclusion. Right now, it's just a possibility. Just one that seemed too important not t'talk about. Ah'm sorry if Ah scared you, but we both know you wouldn't a'stopped tryin' it unless Ah gave you a good reason."

A small scoff escaped the blonde. Her lips pursed. She couldn't actually  _ talk _ , but just mouthing things wouldn't affect her vocal cords. "Anyone ever tell you your bedside manner sucks ass?" She mimed to the doctor. She looked puzzled for several moments before she let out a scoff of her own, though a small smirk appeared alongside it.

"Yeah, there's the Vi Ah know. Do me a faver an' try not to be too muchuva handful, wouldja?" 

The brief bit of humor helped, but Violet quickly found herself surrounded by doubts once again. Admittedly, the situation went from horrible to just really bad, but that didn't change how fucked everything had gotten.  She still hadn't wrapped her head around the fact that she'd been in a coma for a week. After all, how exactly is someone supposed to react to that? 'Oh, yeah, you just lost an entire week of your life, no big deal'. She'd heard about it on TV and in some books, but it was far more confusing and unsettling to actually go through. She didn't have long to dwell on her confusion, however, as the door suddenly flew open and Clementine rushed into the room like a bat out of hell. "Violet?!" She called out, worry and ecstatic astonishment filling her voice. Violet's breath hitched, her eyes going wide. Clem was alright. As alright as her girlfriend could be, anyway. Ruby had said as much, but actually seeing her girlfriend for herself… she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Violet wanted nothing more than to tell her she was here, how happy she was to see her again, anything to express how she felt about Clem, and she almost never hated the world more than the moment she realized she couldn't. The group therapist/surgeon raised from her seat and joined by Clementine's side. She probably would've missed the way Clem flinched for a second when Ruby touched her shoulder, the tension disappearing as quickly as it arrived. "Is she still up? I came as soon as-"

"Easy, Clem. Take it slow." Ruby advised.

Clem's face fell, but she gave an affirming nod. "Sorry, just… wow, you know?" Violet's former second apologized, a small, tenuous smile taking over her features. It was contagious, the blonde soon finding herself breaking into a smirk herself. It fit Clementine so much better than the worried frown that she usually wore.

Ruby's gaze held something dangerously close to pity. "Ah get it. There's just some things you should know..." She elaborated as she walked back towards the recently awoken teenager. That concerned expression once again returned to her girlfriend while she accompanied Ruby. Violet glared at the redhead. No. Her reunion with Clementine would NOT be focused on stupid bullshit beyond their control when it should be about them.

As soon as she was within arm's length, Violet forced her hand up and grasped Clem's hand, brushing an unsteady thumb over her knuckles. "... Violet?" The girl questioned.  Her stunned look almost instantly converted into a mile wide grin. "Violet!" She merrily cried out as she suddenly pulled Violet into a hug. Clementine's face was lighting up like the night sky, her smile bright enough to chase away the shadows of doubt that were haunting her merge moments prior. The blonde cringed a little, still far from adjusted to just how huggy her often stoic and kickass girlfriend was. She rolled her eyes a little, but returned the embrace as best she could regardless. Keeping up her persona was less important than reassuring Clem. Besides, considering how strong the younger girl's grip was, Violet wasn't exactly in a position to refuse the hug even if she were so inclined. It was hard to describe, but things just felt… different, when Clem was around. Things she'd normally flip her lid over just seemed natural with her. Like,  _ maybe  _ Tenn or Louis could get a brief hug before she broke it off, and anyone else would have a limp for a month if they tried it. For Clem, though? They could be like this forever for all she cared. Not even… no. She couldn't think of  _ her _ this soon. Her dour thoughts were banished by Clementine pulling back to face her. "Thank god you're alive. I've missed you, Vi," Clem confessed, her smile somewhat bittersweet. Her expression fell further as the seconds passed without a verbal response from Violet. "... Violet? What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Shit. Figures it would come up sooner than later. She glanced at Ruby, a similar pained look adorning her face. The redhead sucked in a breath as she explained. "... That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about first, Clem. Y'see- damn it… Vi got hurt worse than we realized durin' the fight. Far as I can tell, she's all there mentally, but… she can't talk anymore. Her vocal cords are too damaged to work properly. Ah'm sorry."

Violet could see Clementine's eyes widen under her blindfold, the girl's brow furrowing in sorrow as she brought a hand to her mouth. "I-I… Violet, oh, god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!" She cried out, devastation tainting her voice. Violet hated the way it sounded like Clem was pleading with her, like she'd already blamed herself for it. The blonde reached out to cup Clem's face, ignoring the growing pain in her disused arm. Despite her wishes, the hold didn't seem to relieve her girlfriend at all. "I'm sorry. I'm so,  _ so  _ sorry. You didn't deserve this… it's all my-"

Oh, fuck that. She pinched the girl with her other hand, getting a small yelp out of her. Now that she had her attention, Violet poured every fiber of her being into saying what Clementine needed to hear. "Bull… not… fault!" She hoarsely whispered through clenched teeth. Shock rocked the traumatized teen's features, clearly taken aback by Violet's fierce refusal and the fact that she spoke at all. Ruby's lips thinned in concern, but she didn't reprimand her for ignoring the previous warning. Her throat ached from her forceful speech, the blonde finding she didn't have the strength to keep talking. Instead, she forced herself forward and planted a kiss on Clem's lips. It probably wasn't a great idea, considering her condition, but she couldn't have cared less at that moment. The stunned gasp it drew out of the sightless survivor was more than worth it. Violet wasn't good with expressing emotions or the whole 'being romantic' thing, but she hoped that proved even a fraction of her adoration for dear friend and partner. 

Clem broke it off first, a faint blush contrasting against an uncertain expression. "... I think you're wrong, but… I believe in you. I want you to know something. This," She vaguely gestured to Violet's throat. "Doesn't change anything. You're still you, and I love you. Eyes or no eyes, voice or no voice, no matter how long it takes, I'll be there. I promise." Clementine declared with a fire Violet hadn't seen in her since before those child-snatching assholes ruined their lives. Surprise gave way to a slowly growing determination. Violet knew the other girl well enough to know that when she said she was going to do something, she was going to do everything in her power to go through with it. The corners of her lips tugged upwards. Fuck it. If Clem was so confident it would work out when she’d be the one getting the worse end of the deal, then she could suck it up and power through. She owed her that much.

A gentle rapping drew their attention to Louis and AJ in the doorway, both clearly excited despite the former failing to meet her eye. "Violet! You're awake!" The little boy shouted excitedly as he sprinted towards her and his adoptive mom. Her fragile smirk grew a little more as her threw his tiny arms around her. 

_ "Like mother like son, I guess,"  _ She mused. Her arms were on fire from their overexertion after a week of just lying by her sides, but that didn't keep her from ruffling that silly mini-afro of his, getting a disapproving groan in response. His eyes were filled with a delight that was far too rare for the often grimly mature tot. He'd probably be weirded out if she didn't say anything, so she took a gamble. "Hey, kiddo. Do you know how to read lips?"

He cocked his head, brow furrowing. "Uh… Clem taught me a little. Why?" AJ questioned, realization dawning on Clementine's face.

The blonde's smile fell to a more neutral expression. She pointed to her throat as she explained. "My voice is fucked up. Can't talk, and my hands are too shaky to write right now."

AJ's grin dropped completely. He looked between her and Clementine sadly. "... How are you gonna talk to her… oh! I can do it!"

Her grin returned. He was as quick as ever. AJ's intelligence and perception was a blessing as often as it was a massive pain in the ass. She gave a nod. "Bingo. Knew I could count on you, AJ. Wait… how good are you at it?"

AJ suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "Uh… sorry, what?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It's not like she could do a whole lot better at over three times his age. Violet shook her head. " _ Well, shit. Guess I'll have to get my arms unfucked sooner than later…"  _ The foul-mouthed leader mused with a hint of bitterness. Seeing the familiar signs of discouragement appear on him, she flashed AJ a small and only partly fake smile and made an 'OK' sign. A creaking floorboard drew her gaze to Louis. The pianist was leaning against the door, seemingly staring down at the ground. If it weren't for his dreads bouncing lightly, she might not have realized he'd been watching her. Her lips thinned before eventually creasing into a frown. She… wasn't sure what she thought of him right now. A bitter bile burned in her for where they'd left off, but on the other hand, she couldn't deny the hints of relief to see he was okay. He was able to stand on his own, so that much was a significant improvement, even if he was clearly favoring one leg more than the other. It was plain to see that he still felt guilty over it if his refusal to meet her gaze was any indication. He should, but that was beside the point. That reunion she thought would never get to happen was suddenly possible again. It wouldn't be now, and maybe not even for a while, but it  _ could  _ happen. A glimmer of hope flickered in her, no matter how much her resentment tried to snuff it out.

Now that the initial shock was wearing off, the rational part of Violet's mind was rationalizing that things weren't actually that bad. Okay, losing her voice blowed big time, but seeing as how she was planning being dead by now, the fact that she was still kicking was like a winning lottery ticket. She had Clem and AJ, she had a home with friends, and she had her life. This new life wouldn't be an easy adjustment, but what was easy these days? She'd kick its ass and move on just like every other problem that shoved itself into her life. Hell, now she even had someone she cared about that actually knew what it was like. For the first time in a long time, she wasn't alone. A tentative simpler came to her.

Whatever lied before her, Violet could take it in stride knowing she'd always have Clementine by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Violet, I bet you're at a real loss for words. Clementine can't really see why I did this, either.


	25. Admitting Faults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for it being late. I'll explain at the end.

_ "You're gonna have to depend on the honesty of strangers if you're gonna make it. _

_ And if those same people get to questioning yours, you're gonna be in trouble." _

Independence had always been Violet's biggest source of pride for her entire life. Sustaining herself when her asshole dad had drunk himself into another blackout and her mom was out working herself into an early grave, or establishing herself as a capable survivor in her own right once the walkers came about, or stepping up into leadership when no one else dared, the bold blonde made sure that she was to at least be feared if not respected. That had just been the way she operated for most of her life at this point. Most of her life… until now. Nearly a week had passed since Violet had woken up from her coma, and in that time, she had found herself frustratingly reliant on other people.

Her newfound disability was already a slap in the face to her independence just by itself. After all, being voiceless in a world filled with flesh eating monsters was pretty much a death sentence if she got pinned and nobody saw it happen. The fact that her body had atrophied enough to leave her bedridden on top of that was like a gut punch with brass knuckles in comparison. Her knee was nowhere near usable, still bursting into pain if she so much as tapped it with her foot trying to readjust in the bed, which was a damn near Herculean task in it of itself with her entire body protesting the sudden exertion. She barely had the strength to raise her arms up for any decent length of time, let alone trying to support her body weight under them. The highly competent resident ass-kicker of the group… needed someone else to feed her because her hands wouldn't stop shaking for  _ four fucking days _ . It was beyond demeaning. She wanted to throw that stupid bowl against a wall every single time. But… proud as she was, Violet liked to think she wasn't a complete moron. She'd die without the help, and she was lucky to have friends willing to give it. That did  _ not  _ mean she had to like it or fake a smile. Thank god the shaking had at least reduced enough that she could (briefly) use them with relative ease, even if her handwriting was piss poor now. 

Writing notes quickly became her preferred method of communication, more accurate and less exhausting than mouthing things out. Aasim lent her one of his notebooks for it, s monster of a book heavy and thick enough to crush a walker's head. She tried to keep to short phrases in an attempt to save as much of it as possible, just in case this ended up being a lifelong condition. Yes, no, fuck you, short and to the point whenever possible. The only exceptions were things that needed more clarification, when she was arguing, or Clementine. Her girlfriend deserved real conversation, even if AJ had to translate, which made it substantially harder to say exactly what she wanted. Still, at least she could communicate with Clementine at all. The sightless survivor was with her basically whenever possible, despite the doctor's insistence on an apparent schedule they set up before her return. Ruby practically had to chase Clem out of the room with a pitchfork whenever 'visiting hours' were over, both to Violet's amusement and annoyance. As funny as it was seeing AJ and Clementine try to bullshit their way into a few more minutes with her and Ruby's barely contained exasperation whenever they bugged her enough to allow it, the leader of the school was far from pleased having someone else decide when and when she couldn't hang out with her friends in the first place. Sure, rest and all that, but she wasn't a kid nor was she a vegetable. She was more than capable of deciding when they should call it a night or who she wanted to talk to. A little bit of faith in her would go a long way in keeping her sullen and grumpy demeanor from coming back with a vengeance during the frankly embarrassing physical therapy sessions.

She glanced out the window. It looked like it was a little before noon, some of the students chatting at tables or scurrying around to their other shifts. A pretty normal sight, though she'd grown accustomed to seeing it from on high in the office. Did it give her the same feeling it did Ericson himself? It was a bit of an amusing thought. Who would've pegged her as an administrator? Of course, she hadn't done a lot of that lately. Between her coma and recovery, it was pretty unanimously agreed that she was in no condition to lead. Even Violet was inclined to agree given her lack of energy and the events of the past several weeks finally starting to come down on her. Minnie's betrayal, Louis going behind her back, the kids kicking out Minerva without her permission, becoming mute… yeah, no. Even she could see how dangerous it was for her to be calling the shots right now. That was probably why her physical therapy sessions often included Ruby oh-so-subtly acting like the various shrinks they used to report to before the end of the world and trying to twist any drop of information about her mental state that she could. It went about as well as it did then, too, with less yelling. Not from a lack of wanting, though.

Speaking of that, Ruby was late. The usually punctual doctor was nowhere to be seen in the room or the courtyard, despite her pre-lunch session coming up, leaving Violet mixed. She was glad to put that off for as long as possible, but at the same time, it probably meant there was something important delaying Ruby. Something important that she didn't know, because she was stuck in this bed like some frail old lady. Making her feel powerless was by far one of the best ways to massively piss Violet off. Yet, no matter how much it bugged her, it didn't change the fact that she was stuck there. She was basically at the mercy of the universe. Cliche and stupid as it was, Violet half-seriously considered counting cracks in the wall to give herself anything to focus on aside from the infuriating boredom. It was like being stuck in her coma all over again, except she was acutely aware of just how much everything in her body hurt. A small metallic click from the entrance drew her eyes from the ceiling to find the door opening hesitantly. After a moment, a familiar trench coat clad teenager slowly peaked passed the frame. Her eyes narrowed at the young man standing in the doorway. What was  _ he  _ doing here? He knew damn well they weren't on speaking terms. Louis wore a tiny grin that didn't reach his eyes as he almost sluggishly entered the room. The two stared at each other in silence for an uncomfortably long moment, the school's substitute leader's smile growing more and more strained with each passing second. She glowered at him as she grabbed her notebook.  **"I can't say the first word. Dumbass."**

A small chuckle emanated from him, lasting less than a second before dying out. He scratched the back of his head, clearly trying to look casual and failing spectacularly. "Yeah, I guess you can't…" He sighed with a shake of his head. "I'll get to the point. Ruby is busy doing one of Clem's sessions right now, so she asked me to do yours..." Violet scowled, her lips plummeting into a deep frown. Greaaat. Annoying as shit exercises with the guy that kissed her girlfriend and lied about it. She knew a recipe for disaster when she saw one. It would be better for both of them if he just walked away before she said something she regretted. Louis' fake smile quickly fell at her somewhat aggravated gaze. "Is that co-"

**"No."**

Surprise overtook his features for a moment before it morphed into a grimace. "Please don't be like that, Vi. Could you hear me out?" He requested. She tapped on the paper hard with daggers coming out of her eyes. The pianist looked away from her, a small flash of empathy coming to the blonde. A sigh escaped her before she scribbled out another note and tapped the pencil to catch his attention.

**"Fine. Make it quick."**

She watched him with a critical gaze as he began. "I'm sorry. I know I said it before, but I am. Way passed sorry, really. It was a stupid mistake and you were right to be mad. Hell, even still be mad. But… I miss you, Violet. I was scared shitless when you were in your coma. I was afraid I lost my best friend… well, more than I already did. But when you woke up, even with how excited I was, I knew you didn't want to talk to me just by looking at you. So I gave it time, and… honestly? I'm pretty sure if we don't at least start trying to patch things up, we're gonna be like this forever. I don't want that," He explained, Violet's expression unchanging throughout. Before she could even think to give an answer, he continued. "... Look. I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. Clem didn't either. I get why things can't go back to how they were. Totally my fault. Just… could we try making things work again? Try to get back to something similar?" The pianist gently asked, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

Violet didn't respond for a long moment. He… fuck, he actually meant this, didn't he? It would've been so much easier if he tried deflecting the blame or lied to her again. On the one hand, fuck him. He was lucky she even let him be in the same room as her after all his bullshit. On the other… she agreed with Louis.  _ God _ did she miss her best friend. He was a stupid pain in the ass, but he was one of the few people in the school and even the world that really got her. He didn't stop trying to know her when she put up her walls of thorns and ice like almost everyone else did, like her own family did. Louis was probably the biggest reason why she didn't kill someone back when…  _ that  _ happened a year ago. He'd been there through thick and thin, always by her side when it mattered most for better or worse. She refused to speak to that same guy for an entire week. Not that she wasn't justified in that, to her mind, but… maybe it was finally time to give things a chance? If this world had taught her anything, it was that there were never as many chances as she thought. She had to make the most of each and every one. With that in mind, she picked up the notebook and pencil and scrawled out a response.  **"... Alright. Talk about it while we do this workout bullshit."** The blonde presented it to him, a mix of emotions flashing on his face. It settled on… hopefulness? He gave a solemn nod.

"... Thanks, Vi. You won't regret it."

_ "Don't jinx it…"  _ Violet thought sourly. Keeping a neutral expression, she sat up right in preparation for whatever was on the schedule today. Her once and possibly again best friend gently took her arms by the wrists and pointed them to the sky. It was a pretty simple one; all she had to do was keep them up for as long as she could bear. Supposed to stretch out the arm muscles and restore strength, or something like that. She wasn't opposed to it as it at least got her closer to doing things on her own again. With her leg and voice busted, she had quickly gained an appreciation for just how important arms are for basically everything. They weren't in great shape, but they were by and large the most functional parts of her body right now. Besides, the sooner they were back to peak form, the sooner she could start being useful again, even if she'd have to roll herself around in a damn wheelchair waiting for her knee to heal. Each day, she found herself able to keep them up longer and longer. Progress was progress at least.

"So, uh, I haven't burned the school down yet. Actually got something worked out with the Richmond guys, too. Nothing amazing, but I'm pretty sure they're not going to shoot any of us again, so it's not terrible," Louis half explained, half rambled. She cocked an eyebrow - not killing each other and actually being on good terms were pretty fucking different things. Catching her expression, he clarified, "Basically, we'll trade occasionally and they can use the school as a safe house if they pay a little extra. So yeah, we're in the hotel business now."

Violet stared at him like he'd lost his mind, because he clearly had. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

The look on the pianist's face made it clear that he didn't need to hear her to know he had apparently fucked up.

***

Even as a kid, Clementine never really liked doctors. _"Doctors work at hospitals, and you go to hospitals when you're hurt, so doctors must be bad,"_ her six-year-old self had rationalized with her father over some appointment. It went about as well as expected, but all these years later, it still partly held true. Katjaa wasn't a bad person, but that didn't keep her from destroying Kenny right at his most devastating moment. Lingard usually left things worse than he found them. Carlos locked her to die in a shed for Christ's sake! She knew logically that it was just coincidence, but that didn't change her poor track record with them. It didn't help that all of them talked down to her, in their own ways. She was mature enough to do all the group's dirty jobs, yet Carlos banned her from having a vote because she was young? Paul was even worse in that regard, because he'd pretend they were equals just to pull a snide and superior condescension whenever it came to AJ. In her eight years in the post-apocalyptic world, she could only think of one doctor who hadn't caused as much harm as good, and they weren't even a nurse technically.

Ruby was a good friend. She taught Clem how to cope with her new reality, saved AJ and Violet's lives, kept a level head most of the time, there was no shortage of things Clementine was grateful to her for.  _ Not  _ among that list was Ruby forcing her to talk about her feelings. She'd become a rather private person ever since that bastard on the radio took her trusting nature against her. Luke, Kenny, AJ (to an extent, she refused to let him get too worried about her), and recently Violet were the few people she felt like she could talk to freely about that sort of thing, unable to ever fully shake that secrecy with anyone else. It wasn't as if she held any ill will for the medic or the rest of her friends here, but rather just another facet of her trauma rearing its ugly head. Alas, she couldn't really argue against the redheaded medic pointing out the growing frequency of her breakdowns or their severity. After what happened to Violet… she wouldn't get that lucky again. So, she had reluctantly agreed to sessions every three days or when deemed needed, if only to make sure the others wouldn't suffer for her episodes again. That was what led her here: lying down on her bed and idly tapping her foot waiting for her self-declared therapist to arrive. She'd rather have been out working than just biding her time, but the green house was already dealt with for the day and Ruby insisted she be as relaxed as possible physically and mentally.  Her hand gently ran over Rosie's scalp, the sleeping pup gently snoring by her bed. It was still kinda shocking how something so sweet and peaceful also ripped walkers and people limb from limb numerous times in front of her. Not unlike AJ, actually. Good thing he had lookout duty right now. She probably wouldn't be fully honest if he were hovering around. It wouldn't do for her fearless guardian persona to fall apart even further than it already had.

A series of knocks at the door brought her back to reality. Stifling a sigh, she called out, "Come in!"

The old wood opened with a groan as Ruby's familiar footfalls reached her ears. "Heya, Clem! E'rything goin' alright?" She pleasantly greeted. Clementine couldn't hold back a bit of sarcasm.

"Isn't that what we're here to find out?" She asked with a half smirk. She'd meant for it to be funny, but the silence that came afterward made her uncomfortable. "Sorry. Bad joke."

"Eh, don't worry, sug. Trust me, after eight years a'livin here with Louis, Ah've heard a lot worse," The medic dismissed over the groan of the old wooden chair moving from the desk to by her bed. Considering what the pianist usually had up his sleeves, Clem had no doubt that was the truth. She clicked her tongue as she continued. "So, Ah've got somethin' a bit different this time. Lookin' through some a'th'old psych books in the library, Ah came across a word association test. Basically, it could give us a looksy at yer deeper thought process. You alright with givin' it a go?" Ruby asked, unable to hide all the enthusiasm from her voice. Clem gave a small shrug, but nodded all the same. It didn't really matter to her, nor did she fully get the science behind it (sue her, she only got to first grade), but her friend seemed pretty interested in it and she was her patient anyway, so she might as well do it. Besides, arguing would draw things out longer. "Alrighty then. Ah'm gonna say a word, an' yer gonna say the first thing that comes to mind. After that, we'll go back an' try to figure out why you responded like you did. If things start gettin' too close ta home for ya, give me a heads up alright? Let's start with… blue."

That was easy enough. "Sky."

A quick scratching of a pencil on paper preceded the next word. "Tool."

"Knife."

"Small."

Her lips quirked upward at the mental image of her son's grinning face. "AJ." She said with some audible fondness. This wasn't too bad, actually. Maybe their sessions were actually-

"Lake."

Luke's terrified yet horribly vacant eyes stared back into hers, his mouth wide in a silent scream as he slowly fell into the murky depths of ice water around her. She cringed, her knuckles tensing and nails digging into her palms.  _ "It's not real, you couldn't have done anything, he was dead before you even got under the ice…"  _ The traumatized teenager repeated over and over in her mind. The girl clenched her eyelids shut as she took in a deep breath. Nevermind, she was still fucked up. "D-drowning." She forced out. The previously consistent scratch of the pencil stopped suddenly, Ruby no doubt looking at her in concern. Oh, no. Clementine  _ refused  _ to let one unexpected flashback lead into another pity party. "Keep going."

After a moment's hesitation, the soft sound of writing resumed. "... Flower."

"V-" Clem dropped herself as she realized what she was going to say, a tinge of embarrassment coming over her amidst the lingering pain of the flashback. God, what was she, some stupid lovestruck teenager? Wait… damn it, she was two of those things, wasn't she? It took all her effort to keep from groaning. The sightless survivor desperately hoped she wasn't as annoying as Javi and Kate's lovey-dovey crap was. She couldn't afford to come across as that much of a softie. Well, more than she did already, anyway. Her pride couldn't take it. "Sunflowers."

She could all but see the smile on Ruby's lips, hearing it in the small hum the doctor gave. She shot a halfhearted glare at her, but she didn't comment on it if she noticed or cared. It went on similarly for a few more minutes, one word statements getting equally long responses without incident. It was almost fun, if she ignored the fact that it was a psychological test probably trying to see if she were crazy. Ignoring that was pretty important… on the upside, it meant not having to talk about anything too in-depth until she could really pool her thoughts together. Maybe she could actually find a way to talk about what was going on without it sounding pathetic this time. "Got just a few more," Ruby assured. "Sail."

"Kenny," The name escaped her lips before she even realized she was saying them, the girl having gotten too wrapped up in the thing to stop herself. Clementine's lips dropped into a frown, the girl crossing her arms. "I- damn it. Next one..." She instructed, but it didn't come. Silence reigned over the room for a brief moment. Clem could tell Ruby was hesitating again, to her annoyance. "Please. I'm good. Just go to the next one." 

Ruby gave a small sigh, barely audible to the girl, but mercifully continued. "... Music."

"Piano." Louis' effortless tickling of the ivories contrasted harshly against AJ's uncertain and undisciplined but increasingly enthusiastic taps on the keys.

"Cold."

"Wellington." God, it was hard to think it was only six years ago she'd been standing at their gate. It felt like decades.

Ruby gave a soft hum. "Last one here: home."

"Here," Clementine replied softly, and she meant it wholeheartedly. No other group or community had she ever felt more like she belonged. The motor inn, the cabin, Richmond, she was always an outlier in one way or another. Here? Here she felt like just another one of the kids. She didn't always have to be the guardian or the hero or the damsel. She could just be Clementine, AJ's pseudo-mom and Violet's girlfriend.  _ That  _ was the root of her problem with these visits. As important as she conceded they were, things like the therapy sessions or having someone with her in case of another episode got in the way of that sense of normality. In that way, she was  _ always  _ seen as needing special treatment, and that was the dead last thing she wanted from them. Clementine shook her head in an attempt to refocus. Forcing a small smile, she asked, "So, I didn't fail it too badly, did I?"

"Not that kinda test," Ruby assured softly. Clem heard the sound of paper turning over in quick succession before the doc continued. "There are a couple things here Ah'm wonderin' about though. If ya don't mind me askin'... who's Kenny? What's he got to do with sails? You got really tripped up on that one."

Clementine sighed. Yeah, figures that would be the most obvious takeaway. "He was an old friend of mine. Met him back at the start of everything. He was a fisherman. Always wanted to get on a boat and wait it out on the ocean.  When he and I lost everyone else, we were all each other had left, along with AJ. We were planning on getting down to Florida and just sailing away from it all. But, Kenny…"  _ "Got killed because of you-" _ "... died protecting me and AJ."

The scraping of the pencil seemed a little softer, almost like it was imitating her voice. "Ah'm real sorry to hear that, Clementine," The doctor sympathized. The brunette gave a slight nod, the old pain long since dulled but hard on her none the less. After a moment, Ruby asked another question, this one a bit more of a gamble. "That have anything t'do with lakes? Or that Wellin'ton thing?"

"No, those happened a few years before that. AJ was only a couple days old then. There was a community called Wellington that we'd been looking for. Big walls, lots of food and water, basically a paradise. Before we got there, we ended up trying to cross this frozen lake. My friend, Luke, ended up falling through it. I tried to save him, I really did, but by the time I got under the ice…" She sighed, resting a hand on her forehead. "I almost drowned trying to get him out, and then nearly froze to death just from how cold the water was. Nearly everyone was dead or betrayed us by the time we actually got to Wellington, and then they refused to let us in anyway."

"Lord…" Ruby breathed out. 

"Yeah." Was the only response Clementine had. The two sat in silence for a time, neither quite sure what to say. It wasn't exactly easy to make a comeback from such heavy topics, after all. As the silence grew more and more uncomfortable, she tried her best to break the ice. "Did you get anything useful out of that?"

"Well… I ain't a real psychologist or anything like that, but it seems to me that you've got a pretty people-focused mindset. Just about every answer y'gave was either another person er somethin' relatin' to one. Not that many about yerself directly," Ruby explained with growing confidence. "'Fore you ask, that's not absolutely a good or bad thing. You might take good care a'other people but let yerself burn out, that sorta thing."

Clementine mulled on this. It sounded decently accurate upon reflection, even if she thought it was a stretch to take that away from a couple one-word responses. Still, curiosity urged her forward. "Anything else?"

"... Well… it seems like you've got a lotta unaddressed trauma 'bout'cher past. Like, when you were talkin' about yer buddy Luke, you kept saying ya tried to save him even though Ah didn't say different. Do…" The medic trailed off, presumably trying to find the right phrasing for the question. Clem's lips thinned.

"I blame myself? Not as much anymore," She clarified, a small sigh escaping her. "But I do wonder sometimes if my call was what got him killed. The others sure seemed to think so."

"Wait, some a'th'people you were with blamed you? How old were ya?"

Clem shrugged lightly. "Probably eleven, give or take."

"This Luke guy was an adult, right?" The country girl continued. The sightless survivor nodded in confirmation. "They expected a little girl to haul a fully grown guy out of a freezin' cold lake? That ain't right. Weren't nothin' you coulda done."

Clementine pulled her hat downwards a little. "That's why I don't feel as guilty now. Doesn't erase the regrets, though," She muttered through thin lips. After a beat passed, she cocked her head towards Ruby. "What exactly were you testing for?"

"Like Ah said, Ah wanted t'get a better feel a'yer thought process t'see how Ah could shape things around you a little more. This kinda thing ain't one-size-fits-all, y'know? No point in doin' it if it don't work towards helpin' get passed trauma."

The blind brunette mulled over the words. It wasn't that she had particularly doubted her friend's motivations, but she'd long since grown tired of hearing the same empty platitudes over and over throughout the years. Her mistakes were her own, and they were nobody's to judge or forgive except herself. It was largely why she resented having to do these sessions in the first place. Needing help implied she was broken beyond fixing on her own terms to her mind. One more thing in a long list that Minerva had taken from her in one swing of a knife. Still, the girl had learned long ago the importance of taking opportunities and aid when they were available. She'd seen far too many people go insane because they couldn't get any or refused them, after all. Some resolve built in Clementine. She would be different. She  _ had  _ to be different, for the ones she cared about. The best way she do that right now was press on, no matter how much she'd rather keep it to herself. With a small sigh, she said, "... Then maybe things would be easier if I just told you everything. It's a bit of a long story, though."

"It's what we're here for. Go right ahead, if yer sure." Ruby gently encouraged. Clem gave a small nod, and told a tale beginning with a little girl in a tree house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta be honest, this chapter isn't how I wanted it. I was gonna have the scene with Louis and Vi be a lot longer, so I'll probably end up doing that in the next chapter. The problem is, I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter is going to happen.  
> I don't know what changed, but as of a couple days ago, I just felt completely stumped on where to go with this, and as such had very little morale to actually write anything out. I have a very clear picture of the ending I want to write, but everything between that and where we are now is just really murky. So... I need your help, dear readers! I want you to give me your best ideas and hopes for the story to see if anything clicks and gives me my inspiration back. If I end up taking your idea, I'll give you a credit in the notes and description!   
> Sorry again, and I hope this chapter was enjoyable anyway.


	26. Turning Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis makes a hard call. In the past, Minerva forms a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to sincerely apologize for failing to get this updated sooner. I know I've left you guys hanging, but I think I've finally got an idea on how to end this whole thing.

Louis was by no means an expert on lip reading, but he knew Violet well enough to hazard a guess that whatever she was silently shouting at him right now probably wasn't good for him. Her emerald eyes bored into him in a way that screamed 'you are a fucking moron' more than words ever could, her slightly haggard features morphing into an almost insulted frustration. The physical therapy seemingly instantly forgotten, her hands flew to grab her notebook. He swallowed thickly as he raised a hand to pause her as her pencil went a mile a minute. "W-wait, Vi, I swear it's better than-"

**"You told them they can stay here whenever the fuck they like WITHOUT TELLING ME. Remember all that shit about being partners? What kind of partner makes massive decisions like that on their own?!"** Violet shoved the note towards him with a glare. He quickly read through it before shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Vi, seriously. But it wasn't just me, and there wasn't exactly a better option. Trust me, if you knew what we're getting out of this, you'd get why I had to," The trench coat-clad survivor attempted to calm her down. An angry Violet was absolutely nightmarish for Louis at the best of times. Seeing as how they'd been on speaking terms for  _ literally five minutes _ , it didn't seem like he could qualify this as one of those times. At best, she'd be an asshole for hours to weeks at a time. At her absolute worst, she'd become borderline homicidal.  Louis had two advantages here: first, she seemed more inclined to the former. Second, even if she weren't, her being bed ridden would at least temporarily save him from getting a meat cleaver in the dick. "You said we could talk about it, right? Let me tell you what happened, and you can kick my ass if you're still mad after. Deal?" The unlikely leader offered. The blonde's disapproving frown hadn't left her face even if she didn't look quite as furious at this point. After a few moments, however, she rolled her eyes and looked at him expectantly. Well, that was about as good a cue as any. He raised her arms once again, resuming her session as he began his explanation.

***

**Earlier That Day**

The bitter and biting air was a perfect accomplice to the dim grey skies that cast the school in a muggy shadow and and made it seem so much later than it actually was. Louis pulled his coat up with a stifled hiss of displeasure at the chilly wind that lapped at his exposed ears and neck. He rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand to warm it to little success, drawing a small frown to his lips. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if he still had his old scarf, but it became AJ's property a couple days prior after he found the kid shivering like a leaf when he went to relieve the boy's guard shift. That left him in his current position: freezing his ass off in the all-but-name winter air as he idly scanned the same few dozen trees for probably the thousandth time that hour. He'd gotten a big bowl of absolutely nothing interesting since his shift started, which while better than actually finding a threat, didn't change the fact that it would be boring him to tears if his eyes hadn't already frozen solid. 

In truth, that was pretty much how the last several days had been. Once the initial surprise of Violet waking up passed, life largely continued as normal at the school. Chores wouldn't wait around for Vi to get back on her feet, after all. In fact, they tried their best to avoid dwelling on her condition as much as possible. The blonde's newfound mutism had quickly become something that was made universally known and promptly not discussed, just like Clementine's blindness when they first returned to the school. Part of it was out of respect for the girl herself; not wanting to gossip about their leader after being put through such a wringer. Another part of it, however, was out of a lingering discomfort for how close they'd come to losing her, Omar, Clementine, and himself in one fell swoop. Hell, they hadn't seen James in weeks, despite their new house guests' insistence that he was alive. That seemed to be their new normal: either everyone was relatively fine, or there was mass death and panic. Thankfully, it seemed pretty unlikely to Louis that anything would happen to inspire more of the latter. The Delta (at least, the part that actually posed a threat to them) was wiped, walkers were basically a non-issue, Richmond seemed to be cool with them… in general, it seemed like the world was finally paying them back for the shitty luck it'd been throwing at them for nearly two months straight.

He idly tapped his fingers along the guardrail, quietly replicating melodies that had once been his whole world. So many tunes floated around the back of his mind that he could only dream of having enough time to play again. Between him having to take on Violet's responsibilities on top of his usual shifts and the lingering awkwardness with Clementine, his piano lessons with AJ had become far fewer and more in between than he would have liked. Hell, he didn't even have any free time to spend tickling the ivories by himself when AJ was busy. What had it been, a week? Week and a half? He'd start getting rusty if he didn't find the time soon. Maybe he could finally get back into it now that the dust was finally starting to settle, at least. It'd give him something to do that wasn't work or worrying over how to fix things with his friends or thinking about how damn bored he was at any rate. Though, much to his chagrin, the universe apparently decided that now was exactly the time to give him more of the former. "Louis!" Aasim's shout shattered the silence of the early morning and his concentration in one blow.

"I thought I was supposed to be the resident cock, Aasim. Gotta say though, you make for a good rooster," He called back as he turned to face the other student. His unofficial second in command opened his mouth to retort until Louis cut him off with a wave. "Joking, joking. What's going on?"

"Richmond's crew were supposed to be getting back by now. Any sign of them?"

Ah, right. Richmond. Corporal Quickdraw and Suity McFancy had left a little under a week prior, announcing that they were going to report back to their higher ups and try to figure a deal out. They'd left Christa, though he wasn't exactly sure why. The optimistic part of him wanted to think it was because they were happy for her reuniting with Clementine. The realistic part of him realized it was probably a token to show they weren't just cutting and running. Either way, it helped the blind brunette out and gave them a reason to come back without guns blazing, do it was a double win for Ericson's regardless. He shrugged a little. "Nothing. Think they're stuck in traffic?" He quipped. Aasim only acknowledged it with a grunt as he climbed up the ladder and joined by Louis' side. The musician shook his head in mock-defeat, turning back to the woods. "Still, now that you mention it, it's pretty weird. They don't seem like the type to play hooky."

"That's what I'm saying. Something could have happened. We never found Minerva again. Do you think-"

"I think Minerva was half dead when we kicked her out," The leader cut in without a hint of his usual good natured tone. The absolute  _ last  _ thing he wanted to think about right now was that train wreck of a night. "And she's probably completely dead by now because of that. So no, I doubt she has anything to do with it." He said definitely. No response came, much to his relief. He was beyond glad his roommate finally took the hint. He was less grateful for the eerie quiet that took its place, only the occasionally tweets and chirps of distant birds interrupting the near perfect silence. Louis' lips thinned. He… was being an asshole, wasn't he. It's not like Aasim didn't have a point, as much as he refused to indulge it. "Look, I… sorry. But Minnie's gone. They probably just got held up. If they're not here by tomorrow, we can-"

"Hold up. You see that?"

It took Louis a moment to figure out what he was talking about, but once he did, his eyes widened in curiosity. A pair of silhouettes had broken out against the treeline at some point during their conversation, still too far way to discern their features in the dim morning light, but the moderately fast pace of their movement made it clear that they weren't a pair of deadheads that stumbled across them on accident. He picked up the nearly forgotten how he kept propped against the watchtower and readied an arrow from the recently added wall quiver, getting it knocked but keeping the string loose. He gave them a few more seconds to come into view, and, much to his initial surprise, he could make out their hands raised in surrender as they dropped their pace to the school. It wasn't long before one of the voices called out, "Don't shoot! Or if you do, at least let me do my Jehovah's Witness bit first before I die! I've always wanted to do it to somebody!"

Louis barely managed to suppress his snickering. He liked this dude more and more every time he opened his mouth. "If you get Aasim to laugh, I'll let you do a whole damn play!" He called back as he motioned for the boy in question to open the gate.

Aasim's exasperated sigh brought unspeakable joy to the comedian. "Morons…" He muttered, though any other comments he might have had went unheard as he dropped to the ground. Louis cackled victoriously. If he could ruin the firebug bookworm's day, his was made. It wasn't long before the duo and Richmond's impromptu ambassadors were meeting at the gate. Aasim stepped forward, immediately taking charge of the conversation. "So, I'm guessing you talked to your boss?"

David gave a nod. "More or less. Richmond has a council. I put ideas out and they voted on them. You'll be glad to hear we got something worked out. Assuming you sign off on it..." He added the last part with an odd emphasis, almost like he was scolding them. Louis used every fiber of his being to keep from rolling his eyes. What a jackass.

"C'mon, chief, you don't have to play hardball in this. Once they hear the goodie bag we have for them, there's no way they'll say no."

Louis glanced at Jack, intrigued by his bops claim. "Big talk. I gotta admit, I'm hoping it's as good as I'm building it up. Is it a winning lottery ticket?"

The man formerly known as Suity McFancy smirked at him. "Bingo, actually. What's his prize, Johnny?" The well dressed soldier called out. David fixed him with an unamused glare, a small chuckle escaping him while he rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, well, we don't have a new car or a million bucks or something, but we've got something close enough. Gotta say though, it's colder than a witch's tits out here. Pretty open, too. Mind if we moved somewhere else?" 

"Best damn idea I've heard today," The class clown of Ericson's agreed with a smirk. He nodded towards the admin building, the party finding themselves in his- no, Violet's office a few minutes later. Louis took a seat in Marlon's old chair, looking up at his two guests. "You can sit down, you know. We aren't hiding thumbtacks in the chairs."

A chuckle emulated from Jack, to Louis' mild surprise. Even he didn't think that was an especially good gag. "Can't tell you how many people I pissed off with that trick back in the day… shit, you're making me sound old. Anyway, we kinda prefer to be on our feet. Like your buddy over there." He said, inclining his head towards Louis' sidekick. 

Louis leaned further back in his seat. "Suit yourselves, I guess. So, what've you got? If it's chocolate, you've got a deal."

Jack grinned widely. "Something even better. How does preferred settlement status sound to you?"

Louis cocked an eyebrow. "Like something that I don't know about. I mean, I can put two and two together, but it'd be cool to be on the same page about it." He replied, earning a small shrug out of Jack.

"Pretty much exactly what it sounds like: whenever we send out our trade caravans, you'll get access to a higher quality tier of our stock. Real crème de la crème stuff. Plus, to make sure assholes don't burn your house down to get the aforementioned goodies, we have our security teams do sweeps of the area. Wouldn't do us much good if our partners got wiped out after the first deal, after all."

Louis hummed a bit. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm liking what you're saying. But, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you probably want more than a couple rounds and some word a mouth for all that. Right?" The comedian turned commander pointed out. A beat passed before a response came.

"... Well, you're not wrong. We ended up taking a look at our maps, and we ended up realizing something. Because of some factors that'd take a while to explain, this place is prime real estate. I figure you probably aren't interested in moving, but how do you feel about renting?"

Louis blinked. Did… did he hear that last bit right? He must not've. There was no way they were seriously talking about pimping out the school like a mediocre bed and breakfast. "... Renting?" Aasim questioned, managing to get his gears spinning faster than he was. To both their surprise, Jack nodded once again.

"Yeah. You know, like roommates. Roommates twice your age and built like brick walls." The slightly older man said nonchalantly, seemingly content even as the second half of his comment drew a dour glare from David and an uncertain glance between Aasim and Louis. 

"I want to hear what these 'factors' are. If you're going to be staying here, we need the full story." Aasim shot back, Louis nodding in agreement. Something about it was giving him weird vibes. Jack's smile seemed to grow a little strained.

"I said it'd take a while, didn't I? C'mon, it'll bore both of us to-"

"We've got time."

Of the many, many fake smiles Louis had scene and performed in his life, the one painting Jack's features had to be within the top five minimum. He let out a laugh that teetered a bit too close to a scoff as he physically waved the demands off. "You probably do. Me, though? I'm a busy guy. As is the good commander over there. So we-"

"Jack. Enough." David rumbled. His subordinate froze, turning to face his boss.

"Chief?" 

"They're not going to say yes if we lie to them. Just because they're kids doesn't mean they're stupid. Give it to them straight."

Jack stared at him for a long moment, the two seemingly locked in a wordless argument that he ultimately lost. He buried his hands in his elbows as he spoke. "This close to the river? You might not realize it, but what you have is practically a direct line to the Delta. Go upstream long enough and you'll be dead center in the middle of their territory. See how that could be helpful to guys like us?" Jack explained, guestering vaguely to the two of them to help emphasize his words. The slightly older man's gaze turned to Louis with a neutral expression overtaking his usual smirk. "I'll be honest: you've got  _ exactly  _ what we need to win the war right here. Basically, you help us, we can make you safe, sound, and the closest thing to rich you can get these days. What do you say?"

The knee-jerk reaction was hell yes. After all, they were basically getting a massive break exactly when they needed one. Supplies and protection without having to become slave soldiers? It was practically too good to be true. That was the one thing holding Louis back:  _ if  _ they handed out the school to these guys for their war, they'd get all these benefits. So, in that case… "Don't take this as my answer, but... what if we said no?" He asked testingly. Dead silence left the room blanketed in a tension thicker than wool. The pianist glanced around the room with a small but growing sense of dread. 

"... I wouldn't recommend it," Jack stated, his usually jovial voice surreally dire. He sighed, his severe look softening a little. "Look, I get it. I liked being freelance too. But it'll go a lot smoother for all of us if you just take this deal while it's on the table. You win, we win, the Delta loses, what's not to like?"

… oh.  _ Oh _ . So it was one of  _ those  _ choices. He forced a small laugh in a vain attempt to defuse the suffocating atmosphere as well as his own growing nervousness. "Uh… huh. Isn't join us or die usually a bad guy deal?" Louis joked feeling anything but mirth. Jack frowned, looking away from the teenager. Nobody dared to say a word for a long moment, as if breaking the silence would be like setting a bomb off in the rapidly tensing room. To his surprise, David was the one to finally speak up.

"It wouldn't be like that. We… look. We  _ are  _ the good guys here. At least, we're the better guys. But no matter what, we need this kind of an opening. The fact that we're offering you a deal at all instead of just taking it over should prove we're better than those bastards. This isn't a threat. It's a fact. You won't get a better deal from anyone else, Richmond or not." The often stone-faced commander spoke with an unexpected amount of compassion, though even that was just a slight hint in his measured voice. It did little to calm Louis' fraying nerves, however. How the hell was he supposed to stay calm in A situation like this?! A month ago, he was making shitty puns about a girl's name in some lame attempt at flirtation, and now he was making a possible life or death decision for not only himself, but  _ everyone he cared about _ ! A lump formed in his throat, the musician silently hoping that he didn't look anywhere near as nervous as he felt. Fuck, both his options were terrible. Say yes and possibly get his friends dragged into a war they'd already lost so much to stay out of, or refuse and possibly get raided  _ again _ with all of their best fighters either dead, blind, or fresh out of a fucking coma… god, what'd Violet do? Or Clem? Maybe even Marlon? Someone, anyone that actually dealt with this kind of dilemma instead of leaving it all up to a moron like himself.

He glanced to Aasim, the scholarly survivor wide eyed but otherwise doing a frustratingly good job of hiding his thoughts. Awesome. It wasn't a great idea, but Louis had little other choice at the moment. "... Mind if we get a moment? It's… kind of a lot, you know," The comic relief turned leader asked. David's jaw locked a little, but he gave a curt nod and motioned for his companion to follow him out. The well dressed soldier hesitated for only a moment, casting the pair one last glance before turning and closing the door behind him. After a tense moment to make sure they were gone, Louis let out a groan, running a hand through his dreads as he rose from his seat and approached the other student. "Shit. Shit. This is… wow. You have any clue what to do? 'Cause I sure don't."

His friend fixed him with a hard look. "You're phrasing that like we've got any sort of choice. They made it pretty clear they're getting this school no matter what. We couldn't fight the Delta at our best. If we say no and they come back, we're dead. If we killed them, they'd send more and then we'd die."

"And if we say yes, we end up back in the war we fought tooth and nail to escape from in the first place and maybe die anyway? I don't like how all of our plans involve us dying," Louis quipped half heartedly. He let out a cross between a sigh and a groan as he leaned against the wall. A tiny laugh that sounded more like a croak escaped him. "God. Remember when our biggest problems were not having enough rabbits and trying to figure Clementine out? How'd we get from that to this?"

Aasim didn't answer him, his expression dour as he meddled with his scarf. The pair simply sat in a suffocating silence that made Louis' skin crawl. The only noise in the room were the quiet moans and groans of the rusted pipes protesting against the bitter cold penetrating the basement. When he finally spoke, Aasim's voice was so low that the pianist thought he might have imagined it at first. "... We have to say yes, Louis. It's our only option."

"What about Violet? Shouldn't-"

"She'd say no just to spite them. Like it or not, we're the leaders right now. We have to be the ones that make this call. I say we go with this option while we can."

The snarky survivor pursed his lips. "... It's not really an option if it's mandatory, you know. So, we have to give then a green light here, but there's gotta be something we can do about this, right?"

"Like what?"

Louis threw his hands in the air. "I don't know! Something to make sure we don't get wiped out the second these guys decide we're more trouble than we're worth!" He yelled indignantly. It was like a floodgate had opened, all of his fear and frustration boiling to the surface all at once. "Fucking  _ anything  _ that doesn't end up with us dead, or drafted, or worse! You're the bright guy between us, so hit me with it, Aasim! I'm waiting!"

The reformed pyromanic crossed his arms, glowering at him behind his scarf. "Cool it. Look at the facts, man. We tried to stay uninvolved, and we almost made it, but we can't anymore. The only thing we can do is take this opportunity while we have it," He said forcefully before dropping into a small sigh. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but if we go off feelings instead of what's actually good for everyone, it's not Richmond that's going to be worse off for it."

The deadlocked leader opened his mouth to retort only to find no words would come. He… damn it, he was right, wasn't he? They already lost. The only thing they had left was the word of people with every capability of obliterating them in a matter of minutes. His mouth slowly drew to a close, shifting into a defeated frown. Was… was this his fault? Would things have been different if Violet were fine and he was the one being benched? "... Fine. Not like we have much of a choice..." He grumbled, picking himself up off the wall and walking towards the door. He took a deep breath, forced something vaguely resembling his usual smile, and opened it to the guys that  _ totally weren't  _ extorting them. "Good news: you've got a deal."

They went back and forth on it for a bit, Louis only half listening to it. He was much more preoccupied with two things: how they could possibly make themselves too useful to get rid of, and how to explain to Violet why he basically just sold their souls for some cans of beans.

***

"... So, yeah. Damned if we did, damned if we didn't. Aasim'll tell you the same thing. I get my word doesn't hold a lot of weight anymore." He finished his explanation with a frown. If he was being honest, it actually seemed even worse now that he was looking back on it.

Violet's expression was hard to place. Anger was a definite, but it didn't seem like it was entirely meant for him anymore. Fury didn't come close to describing it- not quite the fiercest he'd ever seen her, but damn close to it. Her knuckles were clenched into a ghostly white while her eyes darkened dangerously. Her jaw was tense enough that part of him worried it might hurt her if it didn't look like she was about to kill someone. Violet's lips started moving wordlessly to the clear frustration of the bed ridden blonde, the girl snatching her notebook with a grunt and all but stabbing the page.  **"FUCKING LIARS"** emblazened the page like a brand as she looked up at him with fiery eyes.

He inclined his head in agreement. "Trust me, I don't disagree. At all. But… do you get why I said yes? Because saying no seems like probably the worst idea in a fucking  _ massive  _ book of bad ideas right now, and you  **know** I'm an aficionado on shitty ideas," He attempted to playcate even as his natural wit leaked through. It earned him a glare, but her unforgiving gaze quickly moved to the ceiling. If looks could kill… the roof wouldn't be dead, being inanimate and all, but it would come close to it. He considered reaching out to her, but dismissed the idea immediately. Violet was about as touchy-feely as a cactus, and he hadn't earned that level of casualness back yet anyway. He clicked his tongue as he attempted to put together something resembling a reassuring response. "I meant it when I said I don't think they'll try anything now. I mean, if we're helping them out, it'd be more work for them to kill us and ship people out here full time, right? In a way, they kind of need us kicking. I think we could use that."

Violet seemed to study him, Louis slowly starting to second guess his previously confident declaration. She let out a long and clearly disgruntled huff.  **"We're fucked if they actually do anything, so what, we just shove our thumbs up our asses and hope they don't?"** Her notebook read a few moments later.

He crossed his arms, glancing down to the floor. "Pretty much, yeah. We could probably get a little wiggle room, but that's all we've got."

A tension once again took over the room, even if most of Violet's explosive anger appeared to morph into something far more contained. After some time, the sound of lead scraping against paper drew his attention back to his old friend.  **"Bring them here. We're renegotiating this bullshit."**

Of all the things Louis expected to happen, that probably should have been at the top of the list, yet it managed to take him by surprise anyway. "Wh- Vi, sorry to rain on your admittedly justified 'fuck Richmond' parade here, but these guys made it pretty clear that they weren't interested in what we had to say about it. I don't like it either, but I don't think rocking the boat is a good idea here."

**"Like you said, we've got what they want, and wiping us out isn't in their interests. We should use that to get ourselves what we need to fight back if we have to."** She wrote, some of the anger in her gaze swapped out for determination. In that moment, Louis had no doubt he meant every word.

***

**Two Weeks Prior**

True relief was something Minerva had rarely felt in her life even before the world ended. She'd spent most of her life on guard, after all. The paranoia her father instilled in her from a young age, the fellow prisoners that deepened that distrust in juvie, the sting of Marlon's betrayal, countless instances of being exposed to the worst humanity had to offer left the idea of feeling relaxed a pipe dream to the merciless marauder. She only grew more certain of that after Sophie's demise, and doubly so when her knife slipped into Violet's throat. Yet, as she looked across her reclaimed bounty, Minerva couldn't stop a ghost of a smile from pulling at her lips.

The stunning consolation prize only kept her in place for a moment before she dug into a crate and pulled back a pistol, a quick check revealing more rust than she would have liked, but a weapon was a weapon. It wasn't long before she had it and a number of spare magazines loaded, a task made significantly easier by the combat backpack she subsequently claimed as her own. MREs, water bottles, spare bullets, anything and everything she could need found itself sealed away in the thick bag of loot. The only limits she set for herself was what she could reasonably carry and what was useful. Whatever she couldn't fit in the backpack could be retrieved later if she had to. Of course, this had changed quite a bit. She was only banking on finding maybe a few days worth of supplies at most and skipping town after a few days before she had arrived at the boat, but now, plans had to be shifted. If she could get even a quarter of all these supplies out of the wreckage, she was more or less set for at least several months if not more than a year. If she couldn't… the boat wasn't safe, per say, but something resembling a camp could probably be set up if the walkers could be cleared out and she decided what to do with her unwanted ally. For the first time since leaving the Delta, she finally had things made. No more people bound to disappoint or betray her, no more friends to lose, just her, a stash of supplies, and a plan. The monotone sound of dripping water was interrupted by a voice that wiped whatever inklings of positivity existed in her mind. "Is that really what you think, Minnie?"

The redhead raider scowled, not bothering to face the apparition and instead pulling on a pair of black wool gloves. "You know it is. I told you before: we-  _ I  _ don't need  _ anyone _ . This will get me through the winter, and after that, I'm getting as far south as I can. There's nothing left here anymore."

"There could have been…" Sophie whispered softly. Minerva's teeth clenched.

"But it didn't turn out that way, so there isn't. The only thing waiting for us- damn it,  _ me  _ up north is a death sentence at best..." She grunted out as she loaded the last set of supplies her backpack could handle. Minerva scanned over what was remaining. Most of the boxes hadn't even been touched, and those had had were still largely full even after stuffing the pack to the brim. Her current stock could probably get her along for quite some time before even needing to consider restocking if she rationed it even a little. The big question was how exactly she  _ could  _ move even a quarter of it. She could probably afford to ditch most of the guns and subsequently whatever ammo didn't work with her weapons of choice. Maybe grab a rifle or such for backup, but her pistol and knife should be enough-

"What's waiting for you down south?" The ghostly twin questioned in a tone somewhere between genuine curiosity and knowing accusation. Minerva finally paused her efforts long enough to cast a glare at the figment of her imagination, earning a small frown in response. Sophie's arms were folded as she leaned against the wall, seemingly oblivious to the water dripping where she was supposed to be standing. After a moment, it continued. "No real plan, right? So what, just go south until we hit a beach or something kills you? You said it yourself, the Delta's gone, and you f- messed up our chances at the school, so why not build a new place for us here?"

She knew she shouldn't respond. It probably spoke wonders of her mental health that she was having conversations with her dead sister more and more often these days, after all. Despite the logical side of her brain pointing all this out, however, she found herself slamming the crate closed in frustration as she spun to fully face Sophie. "Because there is no  _ 'us' _ ! You are not real! That psychopath out there is a means to an end! Tenn and… they're all gone now. I'm all that's left. I… I don't care what it takes! I'm grabbing what I can and then I'm getting out of this hellhole like we should have done together!" She roared, shoving a finger towards the infuriatingly calm Sophie. If there was anything at all on her face, it seemed to be… melancholy.

"... This isn't what we planned, you know. What I wanted. I don't just mean that because I'm dead, either. None of it-"

"None of it matters anymore. Nothing I do will bring you or anyone else back, so it's all pointless," The raider growled out as she refocused on the crates. She took a swig from one of the dozens of water bottles, the heavenly sensation of having her first quenched left bitter by her rapidly dwindling patience. This was stupid and she knew it, but why couldn't Sophie just shut the hell up?! Her hands shook for a moment before she steeled herself. What was she going to do, punch a ghost? Stupid. Minerva took in a sharp breath that ended in a sigh. "... Just leave me alone, Sophie. Please." She pleaded, voice softer than it had been since the other girl's death a lifetime ago. The room fell to silence again, the only sounds her own soft breathing and the constant drip of water against the floor. By the time she cast a hesitant glance behind herself, she was shocked to find the imaginary being jad actually done as she'd asked. At long last, she was alone. The raider blinked, not entirely trusting it to not be a trick, before she slowly relaxed. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? It… of course it was. There wasn't any benefit to torturing herself with dead friends. She had to focus on the reality of the situation. Right now, that reality was figuring out how to get hundreds of pounds worth of supplies across state lines without a vehicle in less than a month.

No respite lasted forever, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, I can't promise weekly updates will return. College starts up very soon, and honestly, papers take priority. However, I'm hoping to still get at least one chapter out every two weeks. Thank you all for your continued support, and I hope I can bring you a satisfying conclusion in the next couple chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> Might be slightly out of character as I've never written for Walking Dead before. Still, I hope this was a worthwhile read! Please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear it.
> 
> Despite the site saying it's a one-shot, this will be a multichaptered story.


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